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••* 


AN 


\merican  in   Iceland. 


AN  ACCOUNT   OF  ITS   SCENERY,   PEOPLE, 
AND   HISTORY. 


A    DESCRIPTION     OF    ITS    MILLENNIAL    CELEBRATION 
IN    AUGUST,    1874; 

WITH 

Notes  on  thb  Orkney,  Shetland,  and  Faroe   Islands, 
AND  THE  Great  Eruption  of  1875. 


BY 

SAMUEL  KNEELAND,  A.M.,  M.D., 

SBCKBTARV  AND   PROFESSOR  OF  ZOOLOGY  AND   PHYSIOLOGY  IN   THB   MASSACHU- 
SETTS   institute    of    TECHNOLOGY. 


WBiri\  |g[ap  Dob.S'ii^ctftn  |lIuSiV&i!on«. 


BOSTON: 

LOCKWOOD,  BROOKS,  AND   COMPANY. 

1876. 


^\ 


CopyrigJa^ 

)OKS, 
1875. 


LocKwooD,  Brooks/and'  Company, 


Cambridge : 
Press  of  John   Wilson  dr'  Son. 


PREFACE. 


T  HAD  the  satisfaction  during  the  summer  of  1874 
of  visiting  Iceland,  on  the  occasion  of  its  cele- 
bration of  the  thousandth  anniversary  of  its  settle- 
ment by  Norwegian  rovers.  I  was  led  to  this  distant, 
and  supposed  cold  and  cheerless,  region  by  several 
motives,  prominent  among  which  were  :  i.  The  desire 
of  comparing  its  volcanic  phenomena,  exhibiting  the 
singular  paradox  of  extensive  glaciers  and  eruptions 
of  fiery  lava  9.nd  boiling  geysers  in  close  proximity, 
with  those  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  which  I  had 
visited  in  1872.  Having  gazed  into  the  horrible 
cauldron  of  the  "  Lake  of  Fire ; "  having  witnessed 
the  magnificent  spectacle  of  Mauna  Loa  and  Mauna 
Kea,  fourteen  thousand  feet  high  ;  having  toiled  to  the 
top  of  Haleakala,  ten  thousand  feet,  and  stood  within 
its  extinct  crater,  twenty-seven  miles  in  circumfer- 
ence, —  I  longed  to  see  Mount  Hecla,  which  conceals 
under  its  mantle  of  perpetual  snow  volcanic  fires 
which  have  many  times  spread  desolation  for  several 

o  ^  ^  7^0 


VI  PREFACE, 

miles  around  its  base.  2.  The  hope  of  collecting 
specimens  of  natural  history  from  this  isolated  re- 
gion ;  and  3.  The  desire  of  seeing  its  curious  and 
remarkable  people,  enjoying  the  rare  celebration  of 
the  thousandth  birthday  of  their  country. 

We  are  m-aking  extensive  preparations  to  celebrate 
the  one-hundredth  anniversary  of  our  national  inde- 
pendence in  1876;  and  we  naturally  call  to  mind  the 
great  advance  of  our  country  and  of  the  world  in 
that  century  —  political,  educational,  financial,  social, 
and  religious  —  in  which  America  has  taken  a  most 
prominent  and  honorable  part.  But  what  has  Iceland 
done  for  humanity  or  for  itself,  that  it  should  publish 
to  the  nations  its  millennial  celebration }  It  has  done 
much  for  liberty,  the  advance  of  knowledge,  and  the 
preservation  of  historic  records ;  and  at  a  time  when 
other  more  favored  nations  were  stationary  or  going 
back  to  the  darkness  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  — 
and  under  conditions  of  isolation  and  hardship,  which 
prove  that  man  is  superior  to  his  surroundings,  and 
that  misery  cannot  stifle  the  aspirations  of  liberty, 
nor  degrade  a  poetic  and  heroic  race. 

I  propose  to  take  up  the  subjects  in  the  following 
order : — 

I.  What  we  saw  on  the  way,  including  the  islands 
to  the  north  of  Scotland,  all  at  some  time  invaded 
or  inhabited  by  the  same  race  that  peopled  Iceland ; 


PREFACE.  VU 

the  reader  is  thus  better  prepared  for  the  Icelandic 
national  traits,  and  will  better  understand  their  his- 
tory, especially  its  relation  to  maritime  discovery  and 
the  settlement  of  Greenland  and  America  five  cen- 
turies before  the  time  of  Columbus. 

2.  The  royal  reception  in  Iceland,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  the  festivities,  with  an  account  of  the 
strange  physical  conformation  of  the  island. 

3.  The  volcanic  phenomena  of  Iceland  with  the 
millennial  celebration  in  the  lava  valley  of  Thing- 
valla. 

4.  The  Geysers  and  Mount  Hecla. 

5.  The  characteristics  of  the  people. 

6.  Their  history,  present  condition,  and  hopes  in 
the  future. 

In  addition  to  my  own  experience,  I  have  consulted 
all  original  works  on  Iceland  within  my  reach,  from 
Banks  and  Van  Troil  in  1772  and  1780,  Olafsen  and 
Paulsen,  Mackenzie  and  Henderson,  to  Professor 
Anderson's  writings  in  1875.  Information  received 
since  the  text  was  stereotyped  has  been  embodied  in 
*'  Notes "  at  the  end  of  the  work.  The  reader  is 
referred  to  these  in  advance,  especially  the  latest 
account  from  a  friend  in  Iceland  of  the  great  erup- 
tion of  1875. 

The  illustrations  have  been  made  by  the  "  Photo- 
Engraving   Company "   of  New   York ;   the  greater 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

part   of    them    from   original   photographs    obtained 
by  me  in  Iceland. 

Though  in  many  cases  incorrect,  I  have  adopted 
the  spelling  of  Icelandic  names  most  familiar  to  Eng- 
lish readers,  lest  I  should  be  suspected  of  affecting 
a  knowledge  of  the  Icelandic  language  which  I  do 
not  possess.  In  many  cases  I  have  used  the  phonetic 
spelling,  as  better  than  the  native  assemblage  of 
consonants  and  vowels,  which,  if  not  unpronounce- 
able, seem  often  unnecessary.  I  think  the  interest  of 
the  book  will  thus  in  no  wise  be  diminished. 

S.  K. 

Boston,  Oct.  20,  1875. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  American  Party.    {To  face  Title  Page),  fagb 

Map  of  Iceland 8 

Street  in  Thorshavn,  Faroes,  1874 44 

Street  in  Reykjavik,  Iceland,  with  Hospital,  1874  64 

Harbor  of  Reykjavik  at  the  arrival  of  the  King  66 

Governor's  House,  and  Road  to  Thingvalla    .    .  106 

Chasm  of  Allmannagja 112 

Waterfall  at  Thingvalla 132 

Bird's-eye  View  of  Thingvalla  at  Millennial  .    .  120 

Reception  of  King  at  Thingvalla 122 

Church  and  Parsonage  at  Thingvalla 132 

Eruption  of  Great  Geyser,  1874 148 

Eruption  of  Strokr,  August  5,  1874 152 

Diagram  of  Geyser 158 

Diagram  of  Strokr 159 

Norseman  of  Faroe  Islands,  1874 192 

Icelandic  Student,  1874 192 

Festival  Costume,  1874:  The  Faldr 192 

Common  Head-dress,  1874:  The  Hufa 192 

Dr.  Hjaltalin,  of  Reykjavik,  1874 216 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  ORKNEY   ISLANDS. 


Our  Party. —Aberdeen.— The  Start. —The  Northern  Islands. 

—  Early   History. — Kirkwall.  —  Cathedral  of    St.   Magnus. 

—  Old  Palaces.  —  Mound  of  Maeshowe. — Stones  of  Stcn- 
ness.  —  Finstown  and  its  Bigotry.  —  Circle  of  Brogar.  — 
Stromness.  —  Hugh  Miller.  —  Walter  Scott.  —  Scenery    .     . 


CHAPTER   n. 

THE  SHETLAND  ISLANDS. 

Rock  Scenery.  —  Rough  Seas.  —  Fair  Isle.  —  Sumburgh  Head. 
—  Early  History.  —  Lerwick,  the  Capital.  —  Scalloway  Cas- 
tle. —  Tingwall.  —  Peat-Cutters.  —  Scott's  "  Pirate."  —  Bres- 
say  Cave.  —  The  Holm  of  Noss.  —  Sea-Birds. — Anderson 
Institute  and  Asylum.  —  People.  —  Hosiery  and  Shawls.  — 
Shetland  Ponies.  —  Departure  for  the  Faroes 26 

CHAPTER   HI. 

THE   FAROE    ISLANDS. 

Rough  Seas  and  Fog. — Dangerous  Navigation.  —  Scenery, — 
Characteristics  of  the  Faroes.  —  Early  History.  —  Occupa- 
tions of  the  People.  —  Thorshavn,  the  Capital.  —  The 
Danish  Fleet.  —  Houses,  Streets,  and  Shops.  —  Living  Norse- 
men.—  Reception  of  the  King  of  Denmark.  —  Church  Ser- 
vice.—  A  Gala  Day.  —  Start  for  Iceland 38 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

OFF  FOR  ICELAND. 

Start  for  Iceland.  —  Sunshine  and  Clouds.  — Song  and  Dance. 

—  Sea-Sickness.  —  The  Kraken  and  Sea-Serpent.  —  Furious 
Gale.  —  Westmann  Islands.  —  First  Glimpses  of  Iceland. — 
The  Dangerous  Coast.  —  Position  and  Size  of  the  Island.  — 
Reykjavik,  the  Capital.  —  Preparations  for  the  King.  —  First 
Impressions  of  the  Town 53 

CHAPTER  V. 

CELEBRATION   AT   REYKJAVIK. 

Reykjavik.  —  Streets  and  Houses. — Visits  to  Officials.  —  Ar- 
rival of  the  Royal  Fleet.  —  Reception  of  the  King  by  the 
People.  —  Hot  Springs.  —  Salmon.  —  Services  in  the  Church. 

—  Sweet  Singing.  —  The  Millennial  National  Hymn.  — 
Royal  Banquet.  —  The  King's  Toast.  —  Festivities  on  the 
Hill  of  Oskjuhlid.  —  Bayard  Taylor's  Poetic  Greeting  to 
Iceland.  —  Hyperborean  Merrymaking.  —  Dreary  Surround- 
ings. —  End  of  the  First  Day's  Celebration 64 

CHAPTER   VI. 

PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS   OF   ICELAND. 

The  Northern  Ice.  —  Blockade  of  the  North  Shore.  —  Climate. 

—  Safeguard  of  Northern  Europe.  —  Chains  of  Jokuls  or 
Snowy  Mountains.  —  Glaciers.  —  Volcanic  Origin  of  Island. 

—  Fiords  and  Settlements.  —  Difficult  Travelling,  —  Desert 
of  Iceland.  —  Rivers.  — Waterfalls.  —  Lakes.  —  North  Coast. 

—  North-western  Peninsula.  —  Religious  Ideas  as  influenced 
by  Physical  Characters  of  a  Country.  —  The  Olympus  of 
Jupiter  and  Walhalla  of  Thor ^^ 

CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THING  VALLA. 

Thingvalla.  —  Travelling  in  Iceland.  —  Horses,  and  their  Load- 
ing. —  Rivers.  —  Lava  Roads.  —  Character  of  Country.  — 
Farm-Houses.  —  Noon  Stop.  —  Lake  of  Thingvalla.  — 
Chasm  of  Almannagja.  —  Manner  of  its  Formation.  —  En- 
trance to  Valley.  —  Encampment loi 


CONTENTS,  5 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA. 

Fissured  Lava. — The  Logberg,  or  Mount  of  Laws.  —  Meet- 
ings of  the  Althing.  —  Introduction  of  Christianity.  —  The 
Valley  in  Gala  Dress.  —  Reception  of  the  King,  and  Ad- 
dress of  Welcome.  —  Speeches  at  the  Mount.  —  King  and 
People.  —  Breakfast  to  the  King.  —  Poetic  Greeting.  —  Din- 
ner Speeches.  —  Departure  of  the  King.  —  Dismal  Night 
and  Stormy  Day.  —  Return  Journey.  —  Different  Experiences 
of  Travellers,  and  Consequent  Estimates  of  the  Country.  — 
Republics  of  Iceland  and  America  Compared ii6 

CHAPTER   IX. 

ROUTE   TO  THE  GEYSERS. 

Church  and  Parsonage  at  Thingvalla.  —  Trees  in  Iceland.  — 
Miles  of  Desolation.  —  Raven's  Chasm.  —  Snuff-taking.  — 
Lava  Cavern.  —  Mount  Hecla.  —  Bruara  or  Bridge  River. 
—  Steam  Jets.  —  Accident  to  one  of  our  Party. — Geyser 
Valley.  —  Cooking  in  the  Little  Geyser.  —  Great  Expecta- 
tions Disappointed.  —  Domestic  and  Medicinal  Uses  of  the 
"Water.  —  Beautiful  Scenery  of  the  Valley 133 


CHAPTER   X. 

IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS. 

Geysers  and  Steam  Jets.  — Their  Water. —  Great  Geyser. — 
Its  Mound,  Basin,  and  Pipe.  —  Its  Eruptions.  —  Little  Gey- 
ser and  its  Uses.  —  The  Strokr.  —  Its  Provoked  Eruptions. 

—  Cooking  by  its  Waters. — Theories  of  the  Geysers:  Ly- 
ell's,  Bunsen's,  and  Tyndall's. — The  Power  in  the  Tube, 
and  not  in  any  Subterranean  Chambers.  —  Agency  of  Steam. 

—  Diagrams  of  Geyser  and  Strokr.  —  The  King's  Memento 

and  Departure.  —  Farewell  to  the  Valley 146 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XL 

THE   OLD   NORSEMEN. 

The  Old  Norsemen.  —  Exposure  of  Children.  —  Eating  of 
Horse-flesh.  —  Marriage  Customs.  —  Dwellings.  —  Hospi- 
tality. —  Male  Costume.  —  Female  Dress.  —  Vikings.  — 
Navigation.  7—  Amusements.  —  Banquets.  —  Sports.  —  Re- 
spect for  the  Dead.  —  Characters  and  Origin.  —  Scandina- 
vian Influence  in  Europe  and  America 162 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE   PEOPLE   OF  ICELAND. 

Influence  of  Climate.  —  Physical  Appearance.  —  Dispositions. 

—  Signs  of  Hospitality.  —  Love  of  Country.  —  Emigration 
to  America.  —  Population.  —  Occupations.  —  Haying.  — 
Ways  of  Reckoning  Time.  —  Houses. —  Want  of  Air.— 
National  Costume.  —  Picturesque  Head-dresses.  —  Orna- 
ments.—  Religion  of  the  Old  Norsemen.  — Introduction  of 
Christianity. —  Social  Relations.  —  Oriental  Characteristics. 

—  Decline  of  Romanism,  and  Acceptance  of  Doctrines  of 
Luther.  —  Iceland  Parishes.  —  Theology  Contradicted  by 
Science.  —  Depressing  Influences  acting  on  the  People.     .     180 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

POLITICAL   HISTORY   OF   ICELAND. 

Peculiar  History.  —  British  and  Norwegian  Settlers.  —  Nad- 
dodr  and  Gardar.  —  Floki,  of  the  Ravens.  —  Ingolf  and 
Leif,  A.D.  874.  —  Norwegian  Exodus.  —  Republic  of  Iceland. 
Magistrates  and  their  Duties.  —  Intrigues  of  Norway,  and 
Downfall  of  the  Republic.  —  Decline  of  the  People.  — 
Later  History.  —  Revolutionary  Disturbances.  —  Governors 
of  Iceland 201 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA. 

Ante-Columbian  Discovery  of  America.  —  Early  European  Col- 
onists. —  Phenicians.  —  Chinese.  —  Picts.  —  Icelandic  Dis- 
covery of  Greenland  in  Tenth  Century.  —  Erik  the  Red.  — 
Fate  of  the  Colonists. — Discovery  of  America  in  Tenth 
Century.  —  Bjarne.  —  Leif.  —  Thorwald  and  Thorfinn.  — 
Traces  of  the  Norse  Colonies  in  Massachusetts.  —  Dighton 
Rock.  —  Newport  Tower.  —  Discovery  by  Columbus.  — 
Honor  due  to  him  as  the  real  Discoverer.  —  What  might 
have  been 217 

CHAPTER   XV. 

LITERATURE  OF  ICELAND. 

Literary  and  Heroic  Age.  —  Eddas  and  Sagas.  —  The  Skalds. — 
Heimskringla.  —  Landnamabok.  —  Icelandic  Poetry. — Value 
of  Icelandic  Literature  in  the  Estimation  of  Scholars.  — 
Language,  and  its  Relations  to  the  Anglo-Saxon.  —  Lord's 
Prayer  in  Norse.  —  Education  of  the  People. — John  Thor- 
lakson.  —  Schools.  —  Newspapers.  —  Library  at  Reykjavik 
—  Thorwaldsen's  Font 232 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

VOLCANIC  HISTORY   OF   ICELAND. 

Extent  of  Jokuls.  — Trap.  —  Oscillations  of  the  Soil.  — Ell- 
borg.  —  Eruptive  Periods.  —  Line  of  Volcanic  Energy. — 
Number  of  Great  Eruptions.  —  Glaciers.  —  Krabla.  —  Kat- 
lugia,  and  its  Floods  of  Water.  —  Skaptar  Jokul.  —  Hecla, 
and  its  Eruptions.  —  Ascent  of  Hecla.* —  Vatna  Jokul,  and 
the  Terrible  Eruption  of  1874-75.  —  Destitution  of  the  Peo- 
ple.—  Forms  of  Lava. — Causes  of  Volcanoes.  —  Theories 
of  Central  Fire,  Chemical  Action,  and  Accumulations  within 
the  Crust  of  the  Earth.  —  Mallet's  Theory  of  Shrinking  of 
the  Crust,  and  Conversion  of  this  Motion  into  Heat   .     .     .     247 


8  -  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY. 

Lava.  —  Palagonite.  —  Tufa.  —  Basalt,  or  Trap.  —  Elevation 
and  Subsidence. — Action  of  Ice.  —  Glaciers.  —  Action  of 
Water.  —  Heights  of  Mountains.  —  Surturbrand,  or  Ice- 
land Lignite.  —  Origin.  —  Drift  Wood,  or  Local  Forests.  — 
—  Supposed  Former  Warmer  Climate.  —  Iceland  Spar.  — 
Obsidian.  —  Minerals.  —  Sulphur 277 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

ICELANDERS   IN  AMERICA. 

Icelandic  Emigration.  —  Colony  in  Brazil ;  in  British  America ; 
in  Wisconsin ;  in  Alaska ;  in  the  Red  River  Valley.  — 
Noted  Icelanders  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  — 
Millennial  Celebration  in  America 288 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE    FUTURE   OF    ICELAND. 

Political  Agitation  in  Iceland.  —  The  New  Constitution,  and 
its  Provisions.  —  Analysis  of  it.  —  What  it  is  good  for.  — 
Disappointment  of  the  People.  —  Allegorical  Picture  of  the 
Past  and  Present  of  Iceland.  — Author's  Impressions  of  the 
People.  —  What  is  wanted  for  the  Future  Prosperity  of 
Iceland 294 

CHAPTER   XX. 

USEFUL    INFORMATION. 

What  there  is  to  see  in  Iceland.  — Useful  Information  for  Trav- 
ellers.—  Where  and  how  to  start.  —  Clothing,  Tent,  and 
Food.  —  Expenses  and  Money. — Who  should  go  to  Ice- 
land     314 


Notes 319 


AN    AMERICAN    IN    ICELAND. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    ORKNEY    ISLANDS. 

Our  Party.— Aberdeen.  — The  Start.  — The  Northern  Isl- 
ands.—  Early  History.  —  Kirkwall.  —  Cathedral  of  St. 
Magnus.  —  Old  Palaces.  —  Mound  of  Maeshowe.  —  Stones 
OF  Stenness.  —  Finstown  and  its  Bigotry. — Circle  op 
Brogar.  —  Stromness.  —  Hugh  Miller.  —  Walter  Scott.— 
Scenery. 

"  But  I  remember  when  we  sailed 

From  out  that  dreary  Forth, 
And  in  the  dull  of  morning  hailed 

The  headlands  of  the  North  : 
The  hills  of  Caithness,  wrapped  in  rain ; 

Tlfc  reach  of  Stroma's  isle  ; 
The  Pentland,  where  the  furious  main 

Roars  white  for  many  a  mile,  — 
Until  we  steered  by  Shapinsay, 
And  moored  our  bark  in  Kirkwall  Bay." 

npHE  considerations  mentioned  in  the  preface  im- 
pelled me  to  recross  the  Atlantic;  encounter 
the  rough  seas,  chilly  fogs,  and  dangerous  navigation 
of  the  Northern  Ocean ;  and  submit  to  the  cold  rains, 
scanty  food,  miserable  shelter,  and  toilsome  travelling 
which  I  had  reason,  from  travellers'  tales,  to  expect  in 
Iceland. 


lO  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

Our  party  consisted  originally  of  five  Americans: 
Mr.  C.  W.  Field,  of  Atlantic  cable  fame ;  Dr.  Hayes, 
the  Arctic  explorer;  Bayard  Taylor,  the  traveller- 
poet  ;  Mr.  Halstead,  of  the  "  Cincinnati  Commercial ; " 
while  I  represented  New  England  and  some  of  her 
scientific  and  educational  institutions.  Not  being  a 
correspondent  of  any  newspaper,  and  having  no  busi- 
ness interests  to  serve,  I  went  solely  to  see  the  country 
and  become  acquainted  with  the  characteristics  of  the 
people.  When  we  met  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  we 
were  joined  by  a  younger  son  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  ex- 
Premier  of  England,  and  by  a  native  Icelander,  Mr. 
Eric  Magnusson,  sub-librarian  at  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity, England,  and  professor  of  the  Scandinavian 
languages  in  that* university,  who  was  invited  to  go 
with  us,  and  who  rendered  us  invaluable  services, 
both  in  our  intercourse  with  the  people  and  the 
authorities,  and  in  making  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  our  trip  into  the  interior,  to  witness  the 
millennial  festivities. 

We  fitted  up,  manned,  and  provisioned  a  small  but 
staunch  screw  steamer  of  about  200  tons,  the  "Albion," 
at  Edinburgh.  She  was  commanded  by  Captain  A. 
Howling,  of  Leith,  a  fine  specimen  of  the  British 
seaman,  whose  ideas  had  been  enlarged  by  acquaint- 
ance with  other  countries  than  his  own,  and  to  whose" 
knowledge  of  the  northern  islands  and  of  Icelandic 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  II 

waters  much  of  our  enjoyment  from  a  sense  of  secur- 
ity was  due.  Owing  to  some  ridiculous  provisions  of 
the  English  laws,  we  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to 
get  away  through  maritime  legal  meshes,  to  enrol 
ourselves  in  the  shipping-office  as  British  sailors  for 
the  voyage,  promising  to  uphold  the  honor  and  dig- 
nity of  Great  Britain,  and  to  behave  ourselves  like 
good  seamen.  After  signing  the  papers  in  due  form, 
we  sailed  from  Leith,  the  port  of  Edinburgh,  on  the 
20th  of  July,  1874;  or  rather  I  sailed,  the  rest  of  the 
party  joining  the  steamer  at  Aberdeen,  whence  we 
sailed  on  the  22d  for  the  Orkney  Islands.  English- 
speaking  travellers  should  approach  Iceland,  as  we 
did,  by  way  of  Scotland,  the  Orkneys,  Shetlands,  and 
Faroe  Islands.  All  these  bear  traces,  both  in  lan- 
guage and  customs,  of  the  old  Scandinavians,  the  Norse 
vikings,  sea-kings,  —  or  pirates,  if  you  will,  —  who  set- 
tled in  these  islands  and  in  the  north  of  Scotland 
before  the  historic  period.  The  volcanic  character  of 
the  scenery,  which  attains  such  a  remarkable  wildness 
in  Iceland,  begins  even  in  Edinburgh  and  its  surround- 
ings to  attract  attention.  All  this  region  of  the  North- 
ern Ocean,  even  to  Jan  Meyen,  has  been  the  scene  of 
terrible  volcanic  disturbance,  and  bears  marks  not 
only  of  fire,  but  of  the  irresistible  glacier  and  of  the 
tremendous  blows  of  the  Northern  Ocean.  The  tran- 
sition from  "  Arthur's  Seat "  to  Mount  Hecla  and  the 


12  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

chasms  of  Thingvalla  is  geologically  a  very  natural 
one. 

Our  party  met  at  the  Douglas  Hotel  in  Aberdeen, 
after  a  deal  of  trouble.  Arriving,  as  we  did,  some  from 
Edinburgh,  some  from  London,  and  others  from  the 
North  of  Scotland,  each  sought  his  room  at  night  or 
early  morning.  Like  many  other  Scottish  hotels,  this 
one  kept  no  register,  and  therefore  it  was  impossible 
to  ascertain  the  names  of  those  who  arrived;  and 
being,  from  short  acquaintance,  unable  to  give  such 
a  description  of  each  other  as  "  boots  "  would  under- 
stand, we  were  in  blissful  ignorance  of  each  other's 
proximity,  until  hunger,  which  fortunately  pervades 
the  human  economy  every  morning,  brought  us  to- 
gether in  the  breakfast-room. 

We  wandered  about  the  clean  and  picturesque  city, 
reminding  me  much  of  some  of  the  business-parts 
of  Boston  in  its  granite-faced  buildings  and  stores. 
Making  a  few  purchases  of  water-proof  clothing,  I 
soon  found  that  the  Aberdonian  sharpness  in  trade, 
against  which  I  had  been  warned,  was  such  that  one 
could  easily  believe  the  story  that  an  unfortunate 
Jew,  who  undertook  to  do  business  there,  was  soon 
starved  out.  Talk  about  shrewdness :  the  Yankee  is 
very  far  inferior  to  his  Scotch  cousin. 

We  started  about  6  p.m.  in  a  drizzling  rain,  a  small 
wharf-committee  being  in  attendance,  attracted  by  the 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  13 

unusual  sight  of  a  steamer  bearing  both  the  Ameri- 
can and  the  English  flags,  and  one,  so  small,  about  to 
visit  the  distant  and  dangerous  shores  of  Iceland. 
We  were  obliged  to  wait  until  the  high  tide  would 
allow  the  docks  to  be  opened.  The  sea  was  calm, 
except  a  long  swell,  and  gave  no  indication  of  the 
"  Spanish  waves "  we  encountered  in  the  Northern 
Ocean.  The  rain  soon  ceased,  and  the  sunset-clouds 
were  very  beautiful  in  their  ever-changing  hues  and 
their  reflections  on  the  water.  Soon  after  coming  in 
sight  of  the  spires  of  Peterhead,  a  fog  set  in,  forcing 
us  to  go  very  slowly  through  the  returning  fleet  of 
fishing-boats,  which  answered  our  shrill  warning- 
whistle  with  a  melancholy,  pitiful  toot.  We  arrived 
m  the  harbor  of  Kirkwall,  the  capital  of  the  Orkneys, 
the  next  morning  about  nine  o'clock,  dropping  anchor 
quite  near  the  shore. 

The  Orkneys  —  distant  only  fourteen  hours  by 
steamer  from  Aberdeen,  Scotland  —  are  very  beau- 
tiful as  seen  rising  from  the  blue  waters  of  the  sum- 
mer Northern  Sea ;  some  are  low,  others  high  ;  some 
with  quiet  beaches,  others  with  wave-washed  cliffs. 
The  fields  are  green,  the  birds  numerous  on  land  and 
water,  and  the  air  has  that  peculiar  exhilarating  char- 
acter, of  mixed  sea  and  land  breeze,  which  is  noticed 
at  such  places  as  Nahant,  Nantucket,  the  Isles  of 
Shoals,  and  Mount  Desert.     Even  in  Edinburgh,  the 


14  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

American  is  astonished  to  find  that  he  can  read  in 
the  open  air  at  nine  in  the  evening.  This  length  of 
day  grows  more  and  more  conspicuous  as  you  go 
north  toward  the  midnight  sun.  In  the  Orkneys,  the 
sun  rises  in  summer  at  about  3  a.m.,  and  sets  about 
9.30  P.M. ;  the  longest  day  being  2 1  ^  hours ;  the  short- 
est being  from  9  a.m.  to  3.15  p.m.,  or  6j{  hours,  in 
winter.  The  daylight  seems  to  linger  almost  to  mid- 
night, and  the  coming  daylight  of  the  morrow  seems 
to  arise,  almost  without  interruption,  from  the  light  of 
the  preceding  evening. 

This  is  neither  the  time  nor  place  to  detail  the 
bold  and  cruel  deeds  of  the  northern  sea-kings.  Their 
early  history  is  involved  in  obscurity ;  but  we  know 
that  these  islands  were  certainly  settled  about  400  B.C. 
by  Picts,  —  by  some  considered  a  Teutonic,  by  others 
a  Celtic  race.  Here  their  barbarous  hordes  lived  till 
they  were  overpowered  by  the  Roman  emperor  Clau- 
dius, A.D.  53.  These  islands  were  known  to  the  Ro- 
man historians  as  the  Orcades.  Three  centuries 
afterward  they  were  conquered  by  the  Saxons.  All 
these  northern  nations  worshipped  Odin,  till  the  intro- 
duction of  what  was  then  considered  Christianity,  in 
the  tenth  century.  Christianity  —  as  forced  by  King 
Olaf  of  Norway  on  the  Jarl  Sigurd,  the  principal 
chief  of  the  Orkneys  —  consisted  simply  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  baptism,  without  any  attempt  to  ex- 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  1$ 

plain  its  doctrines;  and  the  so-called  conversions  of 
that  time,  and  unfortunately  many  other  conversions 
in  other  lands  in  more  modern  times,  comprehended 
nothing  more  than  the  performance  of  a  ceremony 
meaningless  to  those  who  adopted  the  name  of  the 
new  religion.  When  Norway  was  subdued  by  King 
Harald  Haarfager,  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century, 
many  of  the  petty  chiefs  with  their  followers  went 
over  to  the  Orkneys  and  the  islands  to  the  north, 
where  they  established  themselves,  plundering  the 
mother  country  when  opportunity  offered.  This  so 
exasperated  the  king  that  he  sent  an  army  to  con- 
quer them,  placing  over  them  rulers,  or  jarls,  of  his 
own  selection.  These  in  their  turn  invaded  Scotland, 
whose  northern  parts  show  many  traces,  both  in  peo- 
ple and  ruins,  of  the  Norse  element.  After  centuries 
of  fighting  with  each  other,  invading  England,  Ire- 
land, and  Scotland,  they  embraced,  as  has  been  stated, 
Christianity,  in  the  tenth  century. 

Among  the  most  interesting  things  in  Kirkwall 
is  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Magnus,  begun  in  1137  by 
jarl  Ronald,  in  memory  of  his  uncle,  basely  murdered 
by  his  cousin  Hacon  twenty-seven  years  before ;  this 
he  built  in  conformity  with  a  vow,  made  in  case  of 
victory  over  the  Scotch,  that  he  would  erect  in  Kirk- 
wall a  church  whose  magnificence  should  be  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  future  ages.     Magnus  Sec- 


l6  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

ond  succeeded  to  the  jarldom  in  1231,  and  from  him 
Alexander,  king  of  Scotland,  took  Sutherlandshire, 
which  up  to  this  time  belonged  to  the  jarldom  of 
Orkney.  William,  son  of  the  Earl  Henry  who  died 
in  1420,  was  the  last  of  the  Orkney  jarls.  Alexander 
III.  of  Scotland  had  agreed  to  pay  Norway  100  marks 
yearly  for  the  cession  of  the  Western  Islands.  No 
payments  having  been  made  from  1426  to  1457,  Nor- 
way became  impatient  for  the  ;£  10,000,000.  Charles 
VII.  of  France,  as  arbitrator,  recommended  a  mar- 
riage between  the  Prince  of  Scotland  and  the  Prin- 
cess of  Denmark.  This  was  effected  in  1468,  Orkney 
being  given  as  security  for  the  payment  of  50,000 
florins,  and  Shetland  was  pledged  for  8,000.  The 
islands  were  never  reclaimed,  and  were  annexed  in 
this  way  to  the  British  empire  in  that  year,  under 
James  III.,  and  have  since  been  in  the  hands  of  sev- 
eral families,  and  are  now  in  the  Dundas  family. 

Kirkwall,  the  capital,  is  a  place  of  great  antiquity, 
with  a  good  harbor  and  considerable  shipping.  The 
streets  are  narrow,  often  steep,  and  well  paved ;  the 
houses  are  very  quaint-looking,  and  a  Sunday  still- 
ness seemed  everywhere  to  reign,  the  greater  part 
of  the  idle  male  population  having  gone  down  to  the 
quay  to  see  the  (to  them)' almost  unknown  American 
flag.  Their  curiosity  was  not  intrusive,  and  they  di- 
rected us  with  eager  politeness. 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  1/ 

The  great  point  of  interest  here  to  all  travellers, 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Magnus,  is  more  than  seven 
centuries  old,  quite  perfect,  and  one  of  the  best 
specimens  of  the  early  Gothic  architecture  in  exist- 
ence. It  is  very  surprising  to  see  in  this  out-of-the- 
way  place,  of  a  few  thousand  inhabitants,  a  massive 
church  of  red  sandstone,  226  feet  long  and  56  wide, 
the  cross  or  transept  being  92  by  28;  71  feet  high 
inside,  and  140  to  the  top  of  the  present  spire.  Its 
colonnades,  arches,  doors,  and  windows  are  worthy 
of  examination  by  all  lovers  of  architecture.  The 
cross  is  the  oldest  part,  containing  four  massive  Gothic 
pillars,  24  ft.  in  circumference,  spanned  by  five  arches, 
the  central  spire  resting  upon  these ;  and  the  six 
pillars  next  are  perhaps  even  older.  In  the  choir 
is  the  famous  Gothic  "  rose-window,"  three  and  a  half 
centuries  old,  36  feet  high  and  12  feet  wide,  of  four 
arches,  separated  by  three  stone  divisions,  surmounted 
by  the  twelve-leaved  rose.  The  three  bells,  of  almost 
equal  age,  are  rung  by  the  feet  and  hands,  the  tongues 
being  made  to  strike  against  the  side  of  the  bell. 
The  west  or  principal  door,  three  centuries  old,  still 
shows  traces  of  its  elaborate  stone  carvings.  The 
interior  is  simple  and  grand,  somewhat  marred  by  a 
portion  walled  up  to  the  roof  to  accommodate  in  com- 
fort the  more  tender  congregations  of  the  present 
time.     The  aisles  and  floors  contain  several  strangely 


1 8  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

sculptured  stones,  marking  the  resting-place  of  many 
Norse  celebrities.  The  steeple  looks  stunted,  having 
been  almost  destroyed  by  lightning  in  1671,  and  never 
rebuilt.  From  the  top  is  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
town  and  many  of  the  adjacent  islands  and  ruined 
buildings. 

Among  the  noteworthy  ruins  are  those  of  the  Bish- 
op's and  the  Earl's  Palaces.  In  the  former,  of  un- 
known but  great  antiquity,  King  Haco  of  Norway 
died  in  1 263 ;  the  tower  now  standing  was  built  by 
Bishop  Reid  in  1540;  it  is  circular  on  the  outside, 
but  square  on  the  inside,  containing  on  the  outer 
wall  a  statue  of  himself ;  the  staircase  is  so  decayed 
that  the  ascent  is  now  forbidden.  The  Earl's  Palace, 
near  the  cathedral,  is  also  in  ruins,  a  monument  of 
the  cruelty  and  oppression  of  the  famous  Earl  Patrick 
Stewart,  who  in  the  sixteenth  century  defied  the 
power  of  the  king,  laughed  at  laws,  robbed  and  mur- 
dered the  people,  compelling  them  to  build  his  castles 
and  palaces  in  several  of  these  islands ;  the  same 
tyrant  oppressed  the  people  of  the  Shetlands,  till  his 
crimes  became  so  intolerable  that  he  was  seized,  and 
carried  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  beheaded  in  161 5. 

Our  party  then  took  a  carriage  to  the  Mound  of 
Maeshowe,  about  nine  miles  from  Kirkwall,  one  of 
the  most  important  antiquarian  discoveries  in  Great 
Britain.     It  is  a  large  mound  of  earth,  of  circular 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  1 9 

shape,  36  feet  high,  and  90  feet  in  diameter,  sur- 
rounded by  a  shallow  trench  40  feet  wide.  It  con- 
tains a  central  chamber  15  feet  square  and  13  feet 
high,  from  which  branch  off  three  cells,  to  the  north, 
south,  and  east,  about  3  feet  high,  and  from  5^  to 
7  feet  long,  and  434  wide;  the  roofs,  floors,  and  back 
walls  are  each  composed  of  a  single  stone,  and  each 
could  be  closed  by  a  single  stone,  found  on  the  floor. 
On  the  west  side  is  the  door-way,  2^  feet  high  and 
wide,  giving  access  to  a  passage  54  feet  long,  of  large 
stone  slabs  set  on  edge,  opening  into  the  chamber. 
Probably  it  was  originally  a  great  chambered  barrow 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  afterward  covered  with 
stones  and  earth  from  the  surrounding  trench.  Anti- 
quarians are  not  agreed  as  to  the  age  of  this  mound, 
but  the  most  probable  opinion  is,  that  it  was  built  as 
a  place  of  burial  for  distinguished  personages  by  the 
Celts  or  Picts,  as  early  as  the  eighth  or  ninth  cen- 
tury. Though  the  architecture  is  primitive,  the  work 
must  have  required  much  time  and  labor.  It  had 
evidently  been  opened  at  some  remote  period  by  the 
Norsemen,  as  the  stones  in  the  interior  were  found 
scattered  about,  with  much  rubbish.  The  walls  are 
covered  with  runes  and  inscriptions  of  various  dates, 
most  of  them  belonging  to  the  Norwegian  division 
of  the  Scandinavian  class,  and  not  older  than  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century.     There  are  more  than 


20  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

one  thousand  inscriptions,  and  many  figures  of  ani- 
mals, one  of  them  a  winged  dragon,  pierced  by  a 
sword. 

On  the  road  to  Maeshowe  is  a  miserable-looking 
hamlet,  of  about  two  hundred  souls,  called  Finstown, 
interesting  for  nothing  but  the  fact  that  its  few 
inhabitants  require  for  their  spiritual  needs  three 
churches,  —  the  Established,  Free,  and  Independent  :- 
the  second  having  the  finest  building.  This  was  to 
me  the  most  pitiful  exhibition  of  theologic  bigotry 
and  narrow-mindedness  that  I  had  ever  seen.  I  was 
not  unacquainted  with  the  puerile  divisions  of  like 
character  in  some  of  our  New  England  towns,  where 
each  "ist"  or  "arian"  sect  must  have  not  only  its 
own  preacher,  but  its  teacher,  doctor,  grocer,  black- 
smith, and  haberdasher  of  the  same  theologic  stripe ; 
never  meeting  in  friendly  intercourse  or  interchange 
of  opinions,  but  each  travelling  stiffly  in  its  narrow 
rut,  which  it  fondly  believes  is  the  sole  path  of  salva- 
tion ;  each  hugging  its  grain  of  truth  as  if  it  were  the 
whole  truth,  —  but  Finstown  is  entitled  to  the  prize 
for  the  "  least  possible  amount  of  Christian  charity." 
When  will  these  bitter  sectarians  discover  that  theol- 
ogy is  not  religion ;  that  creeds  are  not  truths ;  that 
blind  faith,  selfish  pursuit  of  present  or  promised 
happiness,  and  obedience  to  the  letter,  regardless  of 
the  spirit,  of  supposed  divine  law,  are  not  virtues! 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  21 

Why  will  they  not  cherish  the  spark  of  eternal  fire 
which  they  have  in  their  hearts,  without  attempting 
to  smother  that  which  burns  as  brightly  in  the  bosom 
of  their  neighbor  of  another  belief !  why  declare  their 
tiny  rill  from  the  fountain  of  the  Father's  love  the  only 
pure  one,  and  all  others  from  the  same  source  "  waters 
of  perdition ! " 

Within  a  few  minutes'  ride  of  Maeshowe  are  the 
remarkable  stone  circles  of  Stenness,  in  groups  or 
solitary,  standing  like  sentinels  over  numerous  grass- 
covered  mounds  of  various  sizes  and  shapes.  These 
stones  seem  at  one  time  to  have  formed  two  or  parts 
of  two  circles ;  in  the  series  near  Maeshowe,  only 
three  stones  are  left,  —  two  standing,  and  one  on  the 
ground;  the  last  is  i8  feet  long,  ^Yi  wide,  and  21 
inches  thick,  and  had  apparently  been  inserted  2  feet 
in  the  ground.  A  similar  pillar  stood  near  by,  having 
a  hole  cut  through  it  about  5  feet  from  the  ground, 
which  doubtless  served  as  the  altar  to  which  the  vic- 
tims for  sacrifice  were  fastened  ;  but  in  more  modern 
times  lovers  met  at  this  "  Stone  of  Odin,"  and  pledges 
made  when  their  hands  were  joined  through  this  hole 
were  considered  as  sacred  vows.  It  is  not  standing 
now.  Walter  Scott,  in  his  novel,  "  The  Pirate,"  has 
introduced  this  stone  as  a  try  sting-place.  If  this 
promise  by  the  stone  of  Odin  was  sacred  for  lovers, 
the  neighboring  church  of  Stenness  was  equally  con- 


22  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

venient  for  those  weary  of  married  life ;  if  the  couple, 
after  entering  the  church,  separated,  and  one  went 
out  at  the  north  door,  and  the  other  at  the  south, 
they  were  legally  divorced,  and  free  to  make  another 
visit  to  the  "  stone  with  a  hole  in  it." 

On  the  other  side  of  the  loch  is  the  great  circle  of 
Brogar,  a  circular  platform  of  stones,  about  13  feet 
from  the  margin  of  which,  and  in  a  diameter  of  340 
feet,  are  the  "  standing  stones,"  —  thirteen  upright, 
and  ten  on  the  ground ;  originally  there  were  about 
sixty  stones,  17  feet  apart;  the  average  height  is  10 
feet,  and  width  5}^  ;  though  smaller  than  the  first- 
named  circle,  they  are  sufficiently  large  to  strike  one 
with  astonishment  how  such  blocks  could  be  hewn 
and  placed  in  position  with  the  mechanical  devices 
then  known.  Their  purpose  was  probably  of  a  relig- 
ious character.  They  were  doubtless  of  Celtic  Druid 
origin,  and  not  erected  by  the  Northmen.  The  nu- 
merous grave-like  hillocks  mark  the  place  of  a  great 
battle  fought  by  two  Norse  jarls  about  the  year  960. 

A  few  miles  west  is  the  town  of  Stromness,  well 
known  to  geologists  by  the  discoveries  of  fossil  ganoid 
fishes,  made  there  by  Hugh  Miller,  and  familiar  to 
Boston  readers  in  his  work,  "  Footprints  of  the  Cre- 
ator, or  the  Asterolepis  of  Stromness,"  containing 
facts  bearing  upon  the  theory  of  development,  inas- 
much as  these  oldest  vertebrates  known  were  of  a 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  23 

very  high  type  among  fishes.  In  his  own  words, 
the  old  red  sandstone  of  the  Orkneys  "furnished 
more  fossil  fishes  than  every  other  geological  system 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  from  the  coal  meas- 
ures to  the  chalk,  inclusive.  It  is,  in  short,  the  *  land 
of  fish,'  and  could  supply  with  ichthyolites,  by  the 
ton  or  ship-load,  the  museums  of  the  world." 

Stromness,  famous  for  its  rushing  tides  and  spa- 
cious land-locked  harbor,  though  historically  modern, 
is  geologically  of  immense  antiquity ;  it  is  on  the 
margin  of  a  beautiful  bay,  in  whose  waters  in  the 
Devonian  age  sported  the  huge  sharks  and  ganoid 
fishes  so  graphically  described  in  Miller's  works. 
Though  the  town  is  poorly  built,  it  has  a  very  pictu- 
resque look,  many  of  the  gabled  houses  running  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  having  their  own  separate 
piers. 

The  "  Wizard  of  the  North  "  has  thrown  his  charm 
around  this  place.  Captain  Cleveland,  in  Scott's 
"  Pirate,"  was  John  Gow,  son  of  a  merchant  of  Strom- 
ness ;  he  was  commander  of  the  "  Revenge,"  of 
twenty-four  guns,  and  frequently  visited  the  harbor 
and  gave  dancing-parties  there,  before  his  real  charac- 
ter was  known ;  he  was  captured  by  stratagem,  in 
1725,  in  one  of  the  sounds  of  the  neighboring  island 
of  Eday,  and  soon  after  executed  in  London, 

An  old  hag,  named  Bessie  Millie,  who  sold  favor- 


24  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

able  winds  to  the  fishermen,  lived  here,  and  was  the 
original  of  his  strange  character  of  "  Noma  of  the 
Fitful  Head." 

The  "  Torquil "  of  Lord  Byron's  "  Island,"  was 
"reorge  Stewart,  whose  father  resided  in  Stromness. 

The  scenery  in  the  vicinity  of  Kirkwall  is  very 
tame ;  the  roads  are  excellent,  flanked  on  each  side 
by  stone  walls  surmounted  by  slabs  set  on  end,  like 
a  conglomeration  of  narrow  tombstones.  There  were 
a  few  fine  houses,  surrounded  by  well-cultivated  fields 
and  a  general  prosperity  was  indicated  by  abundant 
crops  of  hay  and  sleek  cattle.  The  roofs  of  the 
poorer  houses  were  thatched  with  straw,  kept  in 
place  by  flat  stones  fastened  by  ropes  of  straw,  for 
the  same  purpose  doubtless  as  the  stones  on  the  top 
of  the  Swiss  chalets,  to  keep  them  from  being  torn 
off  by  the  violence  of  the  winds.  There  were  exten- 
sive fields  of  oats,  barley,  and  potatoes,  in  which 
the  sun-browned  women  were  working  with  the 
men. 

The  islands  are  6j  in  number,  of  which  27  are 
inhabited,  and  13  of  considerable  size;  they  contain 
nearly  400,000  acres,  of  which  about  one-fourth  are 
cultivated ;  the  population  is  about  32,000,  supported 
by  agriculture,  fishing,  and  the  manufacture  of  hosiery 
and  formerly  of  straw  plait.  Pomona,  or  Mainland, 
on  which  the  capital  is  situated,  contains  about  half 


THE    ORKNEY  ISLANDS.  2$ 

the  population.  The  highest  elevation  is  1560  feet, 
in  the  island  of  Hoy.  Peat-bogs  abound  in  the  islands, 
but  the  winds  prevent  the  growth  of  trees  ;  the  tem- 
perature ranges  from  25°  F.  to  75°,  the  mean  annual 
heat  being  45°. 

Life  in  these  islands  is  uneventful,  there  being  no 
excitement  except  that  arising  from  the  perils  of  the 
sea ;  we  saw  no  signs  of  beggary  or  extreme  poverty ; 
our  horses'  hoofs  startled  strange  echoes  as  in  a  de- 
serted village ;  but  the  signs  of  the  post-office,  tele- 
graph-office, and  Bank  of  England  showed  that  even 
this  remote  region  was  alive  to  the  events  and  business 
of  the  parent  country.  The  Norse  element  was  evi- 
dent here,  and  contrasted  with  the  Norman-French 
characteristics  of  the  southern  Channel  Islands ;  the 
Celts,  doubtless,  occupied  the  northern  islands  for  a 
long  period  before  the  Northmen. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  SHETLAND  ISLANDS. 

Rock  Scenery.  —  Rough  Seas.  —  Fair  Isle.  —  Sumburgh  Head. 

—  Early  History.  —  Lerwick,  the  Capital.  —  Scalloway 
Castle.  —  Tingwall.  —  Peat-Cutters.  —  Scott's  "  Pirate." 

—  Bressay  Cave.  —  The  Holm  of  Noss.  —  Sea-Birds.  — 
Anderson  Institute  and  Asylum.  —  People.  —  Hosiery  and 
Shawls.  —  Shetland  Ponies.  —  Departure  for  the  Faroes. 

"  North,  ever  north  !  we  sailed  by  night, 
And  yet  the  sky  was  red  with  light. 

And  purple  rolled  the  deep. 
When  morning  came,  we  saw  the  tide 
Break  thund'ring  on  the  rugged  side 

Of  Sumburgh's  awful  steep  ; 
And,  weary  of  the  wave,  at  last 
In  Bressay  Sound  our  anchor  cast." 

'TPHE  Shetland  Islands,  the  next  natural  stopping- 
place  on  the  way  to  Iceland,  are  more  high 
and  picturesque  than  the  Orkneys,  and  their  rock 
scenery  on  the  verge  of  the  ocean  is  unsurpassed, 
as  far  as  I  know;  every  variety  of  rock  form,  from 
the  colossal  pyramid  to  the  magnificent  arch  and 
immense  cavern,  all  fashioned  by  the  fury  of  the 
wind  and  waves,  may  here  be  seen ;  beautiful  in  clear 
weather,  they  are  frightful  in  the  storm  and  fog,  the 


THE   SHETLAND   ISLANDS.  27 

rush  of  the  waters  and  the  screams  of  the  disturbed 
sea-birds  betokening  peril  to  the  mariner;  we  were 
there  in  rough  weather,  but  with  the  power  of  steam 
we  could  defy  the  surrounding  dangers,  which  have 
proved  fatal  to  many  a  proud  sailing  vessel,  from  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  Armada  to  the  present  day. 

We  sailed  for  Bressay  Sound  and  Lerwick  at  five 
P.M.,  having  taken  a  pilot  to  guide  us  through  the 
rather  dangerous  channel  into  the  open  sea,  which  a 
strong  headwind  had  lashed  into  waves  which  made 
our  little  steamer  roll  and  plunge  in  a  way  that  soon 
revealed  to  most  of  the  party  that  their  sea-legs  had 
not  yet  been  acquired ;  she  had  behaved  so  well  in 
the  voyage  to  Kirkwall  that  we  began  to  think  the 
Northern  Ocean  was  not  so  rough  a  place  as  voyagers 
made  it  out;  but  it  now  seemed  as  if  some  marine 
tarantula  had  bitten  her,  and  she  began  to  dance  in  a 
most  lively  and  persistent  manner.  The  old  saying 
is,  "  send  a  man  to  sea,  if  you  wish  to  know  what  is 
in  him ; "  and  we  soon  found  out  our  individual  value 
as  measured  by  Neptune's  rude  standard. 

Midway  between  Orkney  and  Shetland  is  Fair  Isle, 
a  mass  of  rocky  precipices  inhabited  by  about  three 
hundred  fishermen,  and  surrounded  by  such  tempest- 
uous seas  that  no  boats  can  leave  or  enter  its  two 
unsheltered  harbors  sometimes  for  several  weeks.  In 
1 868,  during  a  fog,  a  German  emigrant  vessel,  "  The 


28  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Lessing,"  from  Bremen  for  New  York,  was  wrecked 
between  two  of  its  high  cliffs ;  there  was  no  escape 
above,  but  all  of  the  many  hundred  passengers  were 
saved  through  a  subterranean  gallery  in  the  rocks. 
It  is  a  cruel  misnomer  to  call  this  useless  rock,  and 
dangerous  impediment  in  a  foggy  and  stormy  ocean, 
by  the  name  of  Fair  Isle.  In  rare,  calm  weather,  it 
may  seem  fair  to  the  summer  voyager;  but  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  it  is  a  terribly  fatal  snare. 
Many  a  noble  vessel,  freighted  with  precious  lives, 
has  been  dashed  to  pieces  on  its  rugged  cliffs.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  if  by  some  convulsion,  similar 
to  the  one  which  raised  it  from  the  deep,  it  could 
be  again  engulfed.  It  is  quite  unfit  for  human 
habitation,  as  its  occupants  now  seem  to  be  con- 
vinced. 

The  southern  points  of  the  Shetlands,  especially 
the  high  cliffs  of  Sumburgh  Head,  are  exceedingly 
picturesque,  —  the  sea  dashing  upon  them  with  great 
fury,  and  one  can  call  up  in  imagination  pictures 
of  the  shipwrecks  which  must  have  occurred  here. 
We  reached  this  promontory  about  midnight,  but, 
soon  after  seeing  the  light,  a  thick  fog  shut  down 
upon  us,  and  we  went  slowly  and  noisily  along,  to 
avoid  the  numerous  herring  fishers,  whose  tanned 
sails  looked  like  black  wings  in  the  obscurity.  The 
fog  lasted  till  after  sunrise,  so    that  we    seemed  to 


THE    SHE  TLA  AD    ISLANDS.  29 

be  in  mid-ocean,  though  land  was  not  far  off  all 
around  us. 

The  early  history  of  the  Shetlands  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Orkneys,  the  same  northern  Picts 
having  settled  there  more  than  three  hundred  years 
before  Christ;  Tacitus  mentions  the  Orkneys  as 
having  been  discovered  by  Agricola,  and  that  Thule 
was  seen  from  them ;  so  that  the  Thule  of  Tacitus  is 
no  doubt  the  island  of  Foula,  the  westernmost  of  the 
Shetlands.  About  910  a.d.,  Harald  subdued  these 
islands,  and  placed  in  command  over  them  the  famous 
Jarl  Sigurd,  the  founder  of  the  race  of  powerful  vi- 
kings who  ruled  the  northern  seas  for  six  hundred 
years,  invading  Scotland  and  other  parts  of  Great 
Britain,  and  savagely  fighting  among  themselves. 
One  of  these,  Einar,  was  called  Torf-Einar,  and  de- 
serves to  be  mentioned  always  with  gratitude,  as  he 
was  the  first  to  induce  the  people  to  use  turf  for  fuel, 
the  cutting  and  preparing  of  which  is  now  one  of  the 
most  important  industries  of  the  islands.  Christian- 
ity was  forced  upon  these  islands  by  king  Olaf  of 
Norway,  at  the  same  time  as  on  the  Orkneys,  about 
the  year  1000,  a.d. 

These  islands  contain  a  population  of  about  32,CXK), 
and  the  capital  is  Lerwick,  near  the  middle  of  Main- 
land, the  largest  island  of  the  group,  with  over  4,000 
inhabitants ;  the  houses  are  huddled  together,  on  the 


30  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Steep  hill-sides,  and  remind  you  of  a  great  arsenal ;  it 
is  believed  to  be  the  worst-arranged  town  in  the  king- 
dom for  the  convenience  of  getting  about,  accommo- 
dating only  those  who  wish  to  discharge  cargoes,  or 
smuggle  goods  directly  at  their  doors  from  a  boat 
underneath.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that  the 
town  owes  its  existence  to  the  Dutch  fishing  trade 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  to  explain  its  peculiari- 
ties;  at  one  time  (1653)  there  have  been  in  its  fine 
harbor  ninety-four  English  men-of-war,  and  in  old 
times  fifteen  hundred  Dutch  fishing  vessels.  The 
principal  industries  of  the  place  are  for  the  men  fish- 
ing, and  for  the  women  the  making  of  the  famous 
Shetland  shawls  and  hosiery,  and  the  cutting  and 
preparation  of  turf  for  fuel,  —  a  delicate  and  a  dirty 
occupation  combined,  as  you  often  see  a  barefooted 
Shetland  knitter  at  work  bearing  on  her  back  a  pannier 
of  fuel  for  the  market. 

About  eight  miles  from  Lerwick  is  the  village  of 
Scalloway,  with  its  old  picturesque  ruined  castle,  built 
in  1600  by  the  forced  contributions  from  the  people 
by  the  notorious  Patrick  Stewart,  beheaded  for  his 
crimes,  as  before  stated,  in  161 5.  It  must  have  been 
an  elaborate  structure  in  its  day,  with  its  round  tow- 
ers, whose  traces  are  still  evident ;  the  people  are  elo- 
quent on  the  wickedness  of  its  builder,  and  show  the 
traveller  an  iron  ring  in  the  wall  from  which  many 


THE    SHETLAND    ISLANDS.  11 

of  his  victims  were  hung,  and  a  small  apartment  in 
the  thick  walls  where  he  hid  himself  from  his  pur- 
suers, being  finally  discovered  by  the  smoke  of  his 
pipe. 

Scalloway  bay  is  a  fine  harbor,  and  the  place  was 
for  a  long  time  the  capital  of  the  islands.  In  passing 
through  Tingwall,  on  the  road  to  Scalloway,  we  are 
strongly  reminded  of  the  Norse  names  and  customs ; 
TingNvall  is  the  same  as  the  Iceland  Thingvalla,  the 
"  place  of  meeting  of  the  Council ; "  and  on  an  island 
are  seen  the  remains  of  one  of  their  courts  of  justice, 
where  the  people  occupied  seats  along  the  shore,  in 
the  open  air,  the  judge  and  his  officers  being  seated 
in  the  centre  of  the  island.  Here  they  dispensed 
stern  and  swift  justice,  tempered  by  mercy,  which 
might  follow  an  appeal  to  the  assembled  multitude. 

Our  ride  to  Scalloway  and  back  was  rather  a 
dismal  one ;  the  sky  was  overcast,  the  hill-tops  were 
hidden  in  a  thick  mist,  which  the  wind  sent  down 
upon  us,  chilling  and  wetting  us  almost  like  rain ; 
the  roads  were  muddy  and  hilly;  the  wetness  of 
the  grass  forbade  the  collection  of  many  flowers  grow- 
ing along  the  road-side  ;  the  valleys  and  the  hills 
were  disfigured  by  the  strippings  and  pits  of  the 
peat  gatherers ;  the  houses  were  few  and  miserable ; 
strings  of  wretched-looking  women,  barefooted  and 
bareheaded,   passed    us,   bending    under    the   loaded 


32  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

baskets  on  their  backs ;  even  girls  of  twelve  years  of 
age  were  seen,  beginning  their  young  lives  as  beasts 
of  burden,  round  shoulders,  curved  spines,  and  sad 
faces  telling  of  the  labor  which  deformed  both  body 
and  mind.  The  sunshine  would  have  enlivened  the 
scene ;  but,  as  it  was,  the  singularity  of  the  spectacle 
lost  much  of  its  interest  by  its  physical  and  human 
dark  shadows. 

As  we  returned,  we  came  near  peat-pits  six  or  eight 
feet  thick,  running  up  the  hills  and  down  into  the  val- 
leys, of  great  richness.  On  an  inland  sheet  of  water 
we  saw  an  old  Pictish  castle,  of  thin  stones,  sur- 
rounded by  a  stone  wall ;  this  was  open  at  the  top, 
about  forty  feet  in  diameter,  and  thirty  feet  high,  with 
walls  so  thick  as  to  allow  a  passage-way  within  them. 
No  mortar  was  used  in  its  construction,  the  long, 
thin,  flat  stones  being  accurately  fitted  together.  It 
reminded  me,  in  some  respects,  of  the  round  tower  of 
Newport,  R.I. 

In  summer  there  is  almost  a  perfect  day  here,  a 
golden  gleam  being  left  by  the  setting  sun  ;  and  the 
twilight  is  so  brilliant  that  at  Lerwick  in  June  one 
can  read  by  it  at  midnight. 

Many  of  the  localities  on  this  island  have  been  ren- 
dered memorable  by  Walter  Scott  in  the  "  Pirate," 
and  especially  Sumburgh  and  the  Fitful  Head,  and 
Jarlshof,  and  one  almost  fancies  he  sees  the  wrecked 


THE    SHETLAND   ISLANDS.  33 

Cleveland,  Mertoun,  and  Noma  about  these  rugged 
precipices.  But  beyond  all  these  scenes  in  time,  come 
before  him  visions  of  the  old  Norsemen,  the  marks  of 
whose  occupation  are  everywhere  around  him,  and 
whose  bold  and  bloody  deeds  invest  all  these  northern 
islands  with  a  singular  interest,  becoming  stronger  as 
he  approaches  Iceland,  whence  they  started  on  their 
piratical  expeditions. 

As  specimens  of  the  scenery  of  the  Shetlands,  may 
be  mentioned  two  places  on  the  island  of  Bressay, 
just  opposite  Lerwick  and  a  few  miles  to  the  east,  and 
in  full  view ;  viz.,  the  cave  of  Bressay  and  the  Holm 
of  Noss. 

The  entrance  to  the  cave  is  under  a  wide  and  lofty 
archway,  worn  by  the  winds,  waves,  and  frosts,  the 
isolated  pillar  of  which  is  called  the  "  Giant's  Leg ; " 
entering  the  cavern,  the  walls  of  which  are  of  varied 
and  brilliant  colors,  near  its  entrance,  is  a  smaller 
cave,  in  which  a  sailor,  pursued  by  the  press-gang, 
secreted  himself ;  neglecting  to  secure  his  boat, 
which  drifted  away  in  a  storm,  he  was  a  prisoner 
there  for  two  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  swam 
to  the  outside  rocks,  and  managed  to  climb  to  the 
top  of  the  cliff,  several  hundred  feet  high.  The  large 
cavern  makes  a  sudden  turn,  and  its  darkness  requires 
torches,  by  whose  light  can  be  seen  a  lofty  and  large 
hall,  beautifully  ornamented  by  stalactites  and  pillars, 


34  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

from  the  decomposition  of  the  rocks  and  the  infiltra- 
tion of  water  holding  lime  in  solution. 

Just  to  the  east  of  this  island  is  Noss,  or  the  Holm 
of  Noss,  an  isolated  mass  of  rock,  200  feet  X  160,  and 
160  feet  high,  rising  on  all  sides  almost  perpendicu- 
larly from  the  sea.  The  distance  across  from  Bres- 
say  is  about  100  feet,  though  it  looks  like  a  very 
narrow  crevice  from  below.  The  tops  of  the  island 
and  the  holm  are  nearly  level,  and  covered  with  a 
coarse  grass,  in  which  the  herring  gulls  build  their 
nests,  almost  covering  it  with  their  eggs.  Before 
1600  no  one  had  scaled  this  rock,  but  in  that  year  an 
expert  climber  gained  the  summit,  a  line  was  thrown 
across,  and  soon  two  stout  ropes  were  stretched  from 
the  island  to  the  holm,  and  a  communication  by 
means  of  a  sliding  box  or  cradle  was  established. 
The  sides  of  the  cliffs  are  also  lined  with  innumerable 
birds,  whose  various  colors  add  beauty  to  the  scene, 
to  which  their  screams  and  the  roar  of  the  waves  add 
a  strange  and  startling  music. 

A  traveller  in  this  region  was  once  tempted  to  fire 
a  gun  at  a  cormorant.  "  What  became  of  it,"  said  he, 
"  I  know  not.  The  air  was  darkened  by  the  birds 
roused  from  their  repose.  Thousands  hastened  out 
of  the  chasm  with  a  frightful  noise,  and  spread  them- 
selves in  troops  over  the  ocean.  The  puffins  came 
wondering  from  their  holes,  and  regarded  the  uni- 


THE   SHETLAND   ISLANDS.  35 

versal  confusion  with  comic  gestures  ;  the  kittiwakes 
remained  composedly  in  their  nests  (below),  while  the 
cormorants  tumbled  headlong  into  the  sea.  But  the 
confusion  was  soon  over,  and  all  returned  to  their 
former  places  and  employments." 

Fearing  the  occurrence  of  accidents  this  cradle 
conveyance  has  now  been  removed,  and  the  birds  can 
once  more  breed  in  peace. 

Nowhere  are  these  grand  rock  masses  of  the  north- 
ern ocean  seen  in  greater  perfection,  or  more  safely 
and  easily,  than  in  the  Shetland  Islands. 

One  of  the  finest  buildings  in  Lerwick  is  the  An- 
derson Institute,  presented  to  the  county  by  Mr. 
Arthur  Anderson,  a  native  of  the  Shetlands,  who 
represented  them  in  Parliament  from  1847  to  1852. 
It  consists  of  an  upper  and  an  elementary  school, 
which  are  well  attended  ;  the  instruction  is  of  a  very 
efficient  character.  The  Widows'  Asylum  was  also 
erected  by  Mr.  Anderson  in  1865,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  widows  of  Shetland  sailors  and  fishermen  ;  it 
affords  accommodation  for  about  twenty  widows  and 
their  families,  who  also  have  the  advantage  of  a 
pension  fund. 

The  Shetlanders  are  hardy  and  experienced  sailors, 
and  many  occupy  positions  of  responsibility  as  offi- 
cers of  even  the  highest  grade  on  ocean  steamships. 
The   Norse   characteristics   are   more  manifest  here 


36  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

than  in  the  Orkneys,  though  less  than  in  the  Faroes, 
to  which  we  next  proceeded.  Though  settled  first  by 
the  Picts,  the  subsequent  Norwegian  wave  effaced 
most  of  the  marks  now  seen  in  northern  Scotland, 
and  the  islanders  impress  you  rather  as  Norwegians 
than  Caledonians.  The  islands  fell  to  Scotland  in 
the  same  way  and  at  the  same  time  as  the  Orkneys  ; 
the  Scottish  monarchy  was  thus  the  strongest  at  its 
northern  extremity,  terminating  the  reign  of  the 
Vikings,  who  held  undisputed  sway  over  the  northern 
main  for  nearly  six  centuries. 

Unst,  the  most  northerly  of  the  British  islands, 
about  ten  by  four  miles  in  extent,  also  bears  traces 
of  the  ancient  courts  of  justice,  characteristic  of  the 
Norsemen.  This  was  probably  the  first  settled  by 
the  Scandinavians,  and  it  was  at  Haraldswick  that 
Harald,  the  Fair-haired,  landed,  when  on  his  great 
expedition,  which  resulted  in  the  annexation  of  the 
Shetlands  and  the  Orkneys  to  Norway.  Before  his 
landing,  however,  it  had  been  an  important  Pictish 
colony,  as  evinced  by  the  remains  of  three  Druidical 
circles,  of  the  diameters  of  6j,  $4)4,  and  40  feet,  and 
in  the  centre  a  mound  of  stones  12  feet  in  diameter, 
believed  to  be  part  of  a  temple  afterward  built  by  the 
Scandinavians. 

At  the  head  of  one  of  its  bays,  on  a  lawn  in  "front  of 
a  gentleman's  residence,  is  an  upright  stone,  used  by 
the  French  astronomer,  Biot,  for  the  support  of  the 


THE    SHETLAND    ISLANDS.  37 

instrument  used  by  him  in  1817  in  making  observa- 
tions on  the  English  arc  of  meridian,  for  the  purpose 
of  determining  the  figure  of  the  earth  by  the  action 
of  the  pendulum.  Papa  Stour,  one  of  the  westernmost 
islands,  is  noted  as  being  the  place  where  the  Irish 
monks  first  introduced  Christianity  to  these  islands. 

Almost  every  store  in  Lerwick  is  engaged  in  the 
selling  of  the  hosiery,  veils,  and  shawls  for  which 
the  Shetlands  are  famous,  and  the  runners  for  the 
rival  establishments  put  into  our  hands  their  handbills 
before  our  steamer  came  to  anchor.  The  fabric  is  so 
delicate,  and  the  patterns  and  colors  so  pretty,  that 
we  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  invest  a  pound 
or  two  in  this  bewitching  drapery.  The  Shetland 
ponies,  of  which  every  boy  and  girl  is  so  covetous,  we 
saw  feeding  here  and  there,  or  carrying  various  bur- 
dens. They  are  a  very  small  breed,  rough-coated 
from  want  of  care  and  exposure,  but  very  strong, 
docile,  and  gentle.  One  little  fellow,  not  much  bigger 
than  a  Newfoundland  dog,  scampered  on  before  us 
several  miles,  bearing  on  his  back  his  master,  a  tall, 
raw-boned  islander,  whose  feet  came  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  ground  ;  it  was  the  smallest  amount  of 
horse  to  the  largest  amount  of  man  that  I  ever  saw. 

We  sailed  at  5  p.m.  for  the  Faroe  Islands,  with  a 
cloudy  sky,  driving  mist,  and  every  prospect  of  a 
rainy  night,  unfavorable  wind,  and  heavy  sea,  in  which 
\vc  were  not  disappointed. 


CHAPTER    III. 
THE    FAROE    ISLANDS. 

Rough  Seas  and  Fog. — Dangerous  Navigation,  —  Scenery. — 
Characteristics  of  the  Faroes.  —  Early  History.  —  Occu- 
pations of  the  People.  —  Thorshavn,  the  Capital.  —  The 
Danish  Fleet.  —  Houses,  Streets,  and  Shops.  —  Living 
Norsemen.  —  Reception  of  the  King  of  Denmark.  — 
Church  Service.  —  A  Gala  Day.  —  Start  for  Iceland. 

"  For  all  is  rock  at  random  thrown, 
Black  waves,  blue  crags,  and  banks  of  stone,  — 
"^         As  if  were  here  denied 
The  summer's  sun,  the  spring's  sweet  dew, 
That  clothe  with  many  a  varied  hue 
The  bleakest  mountain  side." 

/^UR  pilot  left  us  in  about  two  hours,  to  pursue 
our  unerring  course,  thanks  to  good  seamanship 
and  the  power  of  steam,  through  fog  and  wind  and 
storm,  to  the  Faroes,  distant  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  miles  in  a  north-westerly  direction.  Darkness 
was  not  added  to  the  other  dangers,  a  sort  of  semi- 
twilight,  in  spite  of  the  misty  clouds,  lasting  all  night. 
The  sea  was  very  rough,  and  most  of  us  paid  tribute 
to  Neptune,  who  moreover  asserted  his  victory  over 
me  by  making  me  thoroughly  uncomfortable  ;  I  was 
very  glad  that  no  importunate  newspapers  were  look- 


THE   FAROE   ISLANDS.  39 

ing  to  me  for  a  hurried  account  of  the  strange  things 
we  saw.  In  the  afternoon  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
southern  island  of  the  group,  passing  some  fine  sce- 
nery which  the  occasionally  lifting  fog  enabled  us  to 
get  glimpses  of.  As  usual,  we  got  lost  in  the  fog,  and 
had  to  feel  our  way  very  slowly  among  these  dangerous 
rocks,  knowing  that  the  strong  currents  must  have 
taken  us  ^somewhat  out  of  our  course.  We  finally 
were  cheered  by  the  sight  of  the  greater  Diman,  a 
melancholy-looking  rock,  about  a  mile  long  by  half  a 
mile  wide,  one  of  the  most  inaccessible  of  the  group ; 
even  this  rocky  monster  had  a  pleasant  look,  as  it  told 
us  just  where  we  were.  The  shore  is  so  steep  that  no 
boat  can  be  kept  there,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants 
are  almost  shut  off  from  their  kind  ;  the  clergyman, 
who  visits  them  once  or  twice  a  year,  has  to  be  pulled 
up  by  ropes  from  the  cliffs.  It  is  a  great  place  for 
the  breeding  of  sea-birds,  whose  young  and  eggs  sup- 
ply a  large  part  of  the  food  consumed  there. 

The  mountains  were,  at  least,  half  a  mile  high,  and 
the  cliffs  with  their  base  in  the  sea  and  their  summits 
in  the  clouds,  with  precipitous  sides  rent  by  deep  and 
narrow  chasms,  tenanted  by  innumerable  sea  birds, 
whose  harsh  voices  were  louder  than  those  of  the 
wind  and  waves,  were  singularly  grand  and  pictu- 
resquely dreary. 

The  Faroe  Islands,  as  far  as  coast  scenery  and  pco- 


40  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

pie  are  concerned,  are  a  sort  of  Iceland  in  miniature. 
Settled  by  the  same  fierce  Northmen  who  were  driven 
from  Norway  by  Harald,  the  Fair-haired,  their  greater 
distance  from  Great  Britain,  and  their  consequently 
more  isolated  situation,  in  connection  with  the  diffi- 
culty and  danger  of  reaching  them  in  the  foggy  and 
stormy  northern  ocean,  have  given  them  a  peculiar 
character,  very  different  from  the  poetic  and  literary 
Icelanders  of  the  olden  time.  I  say  of  the  olden  time, 
as  at  the  present  day,  poetry,  literature,  and  even 
ordinary  energy  have  ceased  to  be  characteristic  of 
the  down-trodden,  too  much  governed,  Iceland.  The 
name  is  derived  from  faer,  a  sheep.  The  group  rises 
from  the  ocean,  between  6i°  and  62°  N.  lat,  with 
high  perpendicular  cliffs  of  the  wildest  character,  in- 
dented by  deep  gulfs  or  bays,  and  fashioned  into  the 
most  fantastic  forms,  tenanted  by  innumerable  birds. 
About  twenty  out  of  thirty-five  small  islands  are  in- 
habited, the  rest  being  naked  rocks,  inaccessible, 
except  to  sea-birds,  and  daring  bird  and  ^g^  hunters. 
The  extent  of  open  sea  in  all  directions,  three  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  to  Iceland  and  over  four  hundred  to 
Norway,  exposes  them  always  to  the  fury  of  the  waves, 
which  dash,  even  in  calm  weather,  with  violence 
against  the  rocks  ;  the  water  is  very  deep  close  to  the 
shore,  and  the  currents  are  very  strong  and  dangerous 
in  the  fogs  which  there  abound.     The  climate  is  not 


THE    FAROF    ISLANDS.  4 1 

severe,  being  tempered  by  the  ocean  ;  gcass  grows  at 
an  elevation  of  2000  feet,  though  the  mountain  tops, 
some  900  feet  higher,  are  perfectly  barren  ;  the  ab- 
sence of  trees  here,  as  well  as  in  Iceland,  is  due  to 
the  high  winds  and  the  salt  mist,  and  not  to  excess 
of  cold.  Barley,  the  only  grain  which  will  grow  in 
Faroe,  ripens  at  elevations  varying  from  80  to  400  feet, 
according  to  northern  or  southern  exposure. 

The  Faroese,  though  belonging  to  the  same  stock 
as  the  Icelanders,  were  never,  like  them,  a  literary 
people,  probably,  because  the  population  was  a  very 
fluctuating  one  with  decided  piratical  tendencies, 
most  of  the  early  colonists  having  come  from  the 
Loffoden  Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Norway.  Though 
nominally  subject  to  Norway,  they  were  practically 
independent,  refusing  to  pay  tribute,  and  apparently 
for  a  long  time  forgotten  by  the  mother  country,  their 
fierce  manners  being  rendered  more  peaceful  by 
Catholic  Christianity. 

From  their  exposed  situation  they  were  frequently 
plundered  by  pirates,  English,  French,  and  Turkish, 
though  afterwards  protected  by  Denmark,  when  this 
country  was  united  to  Norway.  During  our  revolu- 
tionary war,  much  of  our  colonial  produce  found  its 
way  there,  whence  it  was  smuggled  into  Scotland. 
Being  wholly  unprotected,  during  the  wars  of  the 
northern  nations,  they  suffered  great  privations  from 


42  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  interruption  of  trade,  to  such  an  extent  that  Eng- 
land, in  1809  to  181 1,  allowed  them  to  trade  with  some 
of  her  ports,  as  stranger-friends,  too  feeble  to  act  as 
enemies  and  powerless  as  friends.  This  will  account 
for  the  extent  to  which  the  English  language  is  spoken 
by  the  old  traders  at  Thorshavn.  In  18 14,  the  peace 
restored  them  to  Denmark,  which  has  monopolized 
the  small  trade  ever  since,  with  the  usual  oppression 
of  monopolies. 

Their  agricultural  products  are  small,  as,  from  the 
rocky  character  of  the  soil,  most  of  the  cultivation 
must  be  done  with  the  hoe  instead  of  the  plough. 
Beside  the  pursuit  of  the  cod  and  herring  fisheries, 
the  taking  of  seals  and  whales  is  an  important  indus- 
try. When  a  school  of  dolphins  is  in  sight,  the  joyful 
news  is  communicated  by  signal  fires,  and  the  boats, 
to  the  number  of  several  hundred,  soon  form  a  huge 
semicircle  around  the  prey,  driving  them  into  shallow 
water  with  shouts  and  blows,  where  they  are  quickly 
killed  by  the  excited  crowd.  The  flesh  is  eaten  fresh 
and  dried,  and  the  blubber,  is  converted  into  train-oil 
for  food  and  various  uses.  Almost  all  kinds  of  sea- 
fowl,  the  gulls  and  cormorants  excepted,  are  eaten, 
fresh,  salted,  or  dried,  as,  also,  are  their  eggs.  They 
raise  many  cattle,  ponies,  and  sheep,  for  which  the 
fields  are  well  calculated  ;  from  the  latter,  as  in  Ice- 
land, the  wool  is  pulled  instead  of  being  shorn,  the 


THE    FAROE    ISLANDS.  43 

portions  ready  to  fall  being  taken  at  each  time.  The 
people  are  healthy  and  long  lived,  but  do  not  increase 
rapidly. 

It  was  9  P.M.  when  we  reached  the  capital,  Thors- 
havn,  on  the  principal  island,  Stromoe,  which  contains 
about  one  hundred  and  forty-three  square  miles,  being 
on  an  average  about  twenty-six  miles  long  and  nearly 
six  miles  wide.  These  islands  were  known  to  the 
Norwegian  rovers  before  the  settlement  of  Iceland, 
this  last  having  been  discovered  by  the  former  toward 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century ;  they  were  not  chosen 
for  fixed  habitations  till  the  wars  of  Harald  drove  the 
chiefs  and  their  followers  from  Norway  to  the  north- 
ern islands.  They  are  now  the  property  of  Denmark, 
and  at  Thorshavn  we  found  the  ships  of  his  Danish 
majesty,  just  arrived  from  Copenhagen  on  their  way 
to  attend  the  Iceland  millennial  celebration  ;  they 
had  put  in  for  the  double  purpose  of  taking  on  coal 
and  of  visiting  this  distant  dependency. 

We  saw  the  flag  of  Denmark,  a  white  cross  on  a 
scarlet  ground,  floating  from  the  masts  of  two  men-of- 
war,  from  several  smaller  vessels  in  the  harbor,  and 
from  numerous  points  on  shore,  which  we  at  first 
took  for  grassy  hillocks,  but  afterward  discovered  to 
be  roofs  of  turf-covered  houses.  We  had  left  British 
waters,  and  were  anchored  in  the  seas  once  ploughed 
by  the  Scandinavian  sea-kings.     We  here  first  came 


44  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

into  contact  with  a  pure  Norse  people,  and  first  saw 
the  form  of  house  almost  universal  in  Iceland,  with 
low  walls  and  roofs  overgrown  with  grass-bearing 
turf,  hardly  distinguishable  from  the  ground  about 
them  except  for  the  wreaths  of  smoke  and  the  flags. 
It  being  quite  light  we  went  ashore  soon  after  coming 
to  anchor. 

The  town  is  situated  on  the  rocky  hills  surround- 
ing two  exposed  bays  separated  by  a  peninsula ;  the 
houses  are  placed  in  utter  confusion,  wherever  inter- 
vals between  the  black  rocks  or  any  level  surface  will 
permit.  This,  while  it  adds  in  one  sense  to  the  pic- 
turesqueness  as  seen  from  the  sea,  makes  getting 
about  in  any  definite  direction  very  difficult.  There 
can  hardly  be  said  to  be  any  streets,  but  steep,  irreg- 
ular, narrow,  stone-paved  lanes,  sometimes  in  front 
and  sometimes  in  the  rear  of  the  houses,  and  often 
admitting  only  persons  going  in  single  file  ;  the  pave- 
ments were  slippery  from  fish-skin  and  refuse,  and 
the  sides  redolent  of  fish  and  the  slops  of  the  houses  ; 
it  reminded  me  of  some  of  the  streets  in  New  York 
near  the  wharves  and  markets.  The  houses  were 
generally  small  and  miserable,  made  of  wood,  tarred 
to  preserve  them  from  dampness,  with  sod-covered 
roofs;  the  fronts  and  projecting  corners  were  adorned 
by  strings  of  fish  in  every  stage  of  decomposition, 
the  attempt  at  drying  them  in  such  a  moist  air  being, 


Street  in  Thorshavn,  Faroes. 


THE    FAROE    ISLANDS.  45 

according  to  my  nasal  organs,  often  a  decided  failure. 
The  odors  of  fish  and  oil  predominated  everywhere, 
and  the  interior  of  the  houses  betokened  discomfort, 
dampness,  closeness,  and  want  of  cleanliness,  which 
must  be  a  fruitful  source  of  disease  and  premature 
death,  especially  in  children.  It  was  a  dismal  day, 
and  it  was  to  me  impossible  to  associate  any  idea  of 
home  with  such  dwellings.  In  some  of  the  better 
houses,  of  two  or  more  stories,  lace  curtains  and 
flowers  gave  a  cheerful  look  to  the  windows,  and  evi- 
dences of  woman's  taste.  Though  night  by  the  clock, 
it  was  light,  and  the  shops  were  open  and  crowded. 
We  went  into  one  pestiferous  place,  through  a  dark, 
ill-paved,  and  winding  alley,  where  we  found  men 
drinking  in  one  corner,  and  in  another  some  women 
buying  gewgaws  for  the  morrow's  celebration  with 
all  the  eagerness,  chatter,  and  apparent  satisfaction 
of  a  shopper  on  Broadway.  The  odor  was  over- 
powering from  reeking  garments,  wet  shoes,  unclean 
bodies,  and  the  organic  and  inorganic  stock  upon  the 
shelves ;  any  thing  could  be  procured  here  from  a 
needle  to  an  iron  chain,  from  a  bit  of  candy  to  a 
pound  of  snuff,  from  a  keg  of  fish  to  a  bottle  of 
brandy. 

The  Norse  characteristics  of  the  people  were  evi- 
dent at  a  glance ;  the  abundant  light  hair  and  beard, 
blue  eyes,  ruddy  con^lexion,  tall  stature,  and  stal- 


46  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

wart  form,  revealed  the  old  viking  race.  The  physi- 
cal appearance  and  dress  of  the  people  were  much 
like  those  of  the  Norwegians,  and  their  habits  those 
of  fishing  communities  in  high  latitudes  ;  a  very  little 
agriculture,  a  little  grazing,  and  a  great  deal  of  fish- 
ing, are  their  occupations.  They  were  very  respect- 
ful, raising  their  Phrygian  caps  as  we  passed,  and 
bidding  us  good-evening.  The  men  wore  breeches 
of  woollen  material,  of  their  own  manufacture,  but- 
toned below  the  knee,  and  upper  garments  like  north- 
ern fishermen ;  long  woollen  stockings  and  seal-skin 
shoes,  kept  from  the  wet  pavement  by  clattering 
wooden  clogs,  completed  their  attire.  I  saw  nothing 
peculiar  about  the  female  costume  ;  the  inevitable 
shawl  around  the  shoulders,  and  a  head-dress  con- 
sisting of  a  black-silk  handkerchief  tied  behind 
with  a  point  toward  the  forehead,  were  not  at  all 
becoming. 

Just  before  our  arrival  the  king  had  made  his  offi- 
cial entry,  and  the  harbor  was  still  gay  with  flags 
and  rushing  boats,  and  the  streets  were  spanned  with 
arches  and  strewed  with  flowers.  The  people  in  gala 
dress  were  quietly  watching  the  processions,  and  the 
petty  officials  were  strutting  around  with  all  the  pomp 
and  feathers  of  one  of  our  militia  trainings.  Such  an 
important  event  as  the  landing  of  a  king,  for  the  first 
time  since  their  occupation  by  Denmark,  was  deemed 


THE   FAROE   ISLANDS.  47 

worthy  of  a  formal  address  by  the  mayor,  but  so  over- 
powered was  he  by  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion,  that 
his  loyal  heart  could  not  bear  the  emotion,  and  he  fell 
dead  at  the  very  feet  of  the  king.  This,  of  course, 
gave  a  tone  of  sadness  to  what  otherwise  would  have 
been  universal  rejoicing. 

The  town,  named  after  the  god  Thor,  ordinarily 
contains  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  many  of 
whom  are  Danes,  and  this  element  of  the  population 
was  very  demonstrative  for  obvious  reasons  ;  the 
place  was  now  crowded  with  strangers  from  all  parts 
of  the  island  to  see  the  king,  who  had  been  expected 
the  day  before.  His  majesty  occupied  the  governor's 
house  on  the  hill,  and  the  road  thereto  from  the  arch 
of  welcome  on  the  shore  had  been  strewn  with  flowers. 
His  officers  were  disposed  in  the  houses  of  the  prin- 
cipal residents,  to  a  degree  that  the  operations  of  the 
post-office,  the  schools,  and  the  courts  of  justice,  were 
practically  suspended. 

Passing  the  night  on  board  our  steamer,  as  we 
always  did  when  in  port,  we  retired  at  1 1  p.m.,  it  still 
being  quite  light.  We  went  ashore  the  next  day,  Sun- 
day, to  attend  church,  whither  the  king  and  his  party 
went  to  participate  in  a  simple,  tedious  medley  of  inau- 
dible prayer,  poor  singing,  and  a  prosy  sermon  in  the 
Danish  language.  The  wash  of  the  waves  made  a 
landing   difficult   on  the    slippery    rocks,    the    only 


48  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

wharves  being  irregular  heaps  of  stones  ;  it  required 
considerable  dexterity  to  avoid  getting  wet  feet  and 
being  thrown  down  ;  but  friendly  hands  were  extended 
to  save  us,  and  we  landed  in  good  condition.  Our 
boats  carried  the  American  and  English  flags,  which 
the  people  seemed  to  look  at  with  more  enthusiasm 
than  at  the  Danish. 

The  crowds  were  well  dressed,  and  every  thing,  as 
yesterday,  had  a  gala  look,  on  land  and  water,  as  far  as 
flags  could  make  it.  We  visited  various  public  build- 
ings and  private  residences,  but  could  not  get  access 
to  any  officials  as  all  were  busy  at  breakfast  with 
their  stranger  guests.  While  waiting  for  the  opening 
of  the  church,  after  looking  at  the  tombstones  in  the 
neat  church-yard,  we  ascended  a  hill  behind  the  useless 
fort,  the  only  decent  walk  in  the  place,  and  thence 
had  a  fine  view  of  the  town,  its  harbor,  the  gardens 
and  fields  of  grass  and  hardy  vegetables,  and  the  mist- 
covered  mountains  in  the  distance. 

At  II  A.M.  we  went  to  the  church,  where  seats  had 
been  reserved  for  us  ;  it  was  of  the  plainest  descrip- 
tion, with  uncushioned  seats  innocent  of  paint,  accom- 
modating a  few  hundred  persons  on  the  floor  and 
small  gallery.  The  altar,  over  which  was  a  faded 
picture  of  the  entombment  of  Christ,  was  at  the  rear 
of  a  space  raised  a  few  inches  above  the  floor,  and  in 
this  space  seats  had  been  arranged  for  the  king  and 


THE   FAROE    ISLANDS.  49 

his  suite.  Soon  the  bells  began  to  ring,  the  great 
doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the  king  entered,  quietly- 
walking  with  the  prince  VValdemar  to  his  seat,  bowing 
on  each  side  as  he  passed  along.  He  was  simply 
dressed  in  the  Danish  naval  uniform  with  a  few 
decorations  ;  his  appearance  was  dignified,  his  expres- 
sion kind  and  genial,  with  an  entire  absence  of  that 
hauteur  and  formality  which  some  potentates  think 
indicate  the  divinity  of  royalty.  Indeed,  had  he  made 
a  display,  in  proportion  to  that  of  some  of  his  follow- 
ers, the  islanders  would  have  liked  it  better,  as  most 
of  them  looked  upon  the  visit  as  a  mere  pageant, 
without  any  political  significance  or  possible  benefit 
to  them. 

The  audience  were  quiet  and  devotional,  joining  in 
the  hymns  with  fervent  but  unmusical  voices.  The 
women  looked  care-worn  and  prematurely  old,  and  I 
saw  no  signs  of  beauty.  There  was  no  pretension  to 
dress,  though  upstairs  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  some 
Paris-looking  hats,  doubtless  accompanied  by  three- 
button  gloves. 

As  in  Iceland,  the  people  here  are  all  Lutherans  ; 
but  the  altar,  the  burning  candles,  and  the  dress,  atti- 
tudes, and  tones  of  the  clergyman,  gave  a  semi-Romish 
character  to  the  service,  at  variance  with  the  inde- 
pendent, intelligent  character  of  the  audience.  I  think 
all  were  glad  when  the  ceremony  was  over,  as  neither 

3  D 


50  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

fresh  ideas  nor  fresh  air  were  supplied  during  its 
continuance.  The  clergyman  was  enclosed  in  a  box- 
like pulpit  on  one  side,  high  above  the  heads  of  his 
congregation ;  he  looked  very  queer  with  his  stiff, 
plaited  Elizabethan  ruff  about  his  neck.  The  royal 
party  seemed  bored  by  the  platitudes  of  the  sermon, 
and,  at  the  close  of  the  services,  departed,  before  the 
audience,  with  great  alacrity. 

After  the  service  the  king  and  his  party  returned 
to  the  frigate  to  dinner,  to  which  many  of  the  people 
had  been  invited ;  the  vessel  was  about  two  miles 
from  shore,  and  the  sea  quite  rough,  yet  boat-load 
after  boat-load,  including  many  ladies,  went  to  and  fro 
all  the  afternoon  and  late  into  the  night.  Some  of 
the  guests,  high  in  church  and  state,  are  currently 
reported  to  have  imbibed  more  stimulating  drinks  than 
were  consistent  with  Sunday  gravity  or  steady  loco- 
motion ;  judging  from  the  hilarity,  and  evident  dis- 
arrangement of  ruffs,  epaulettes,  and  hats,  this  may 
safely  be  set  down  as  a  fact. 

The  people  were  admitted  to  see  the  tables  and  the 
cabins,  the  former  rich  with  gold  and  silver,  and  the  lat- 
ter gaily  furnished  ;  the  ship  was,  however,  of  the  old- 
fashioned  type,  slow,  with  many  hundred  tons  of  old 
iron  in  the  shape  of  cannon,  whose  space  on  such  a  long 
and  rough  voyage  had  much  better  have  been  occupied 
by  coal,  saving  thereby  much  labor  and  time. 


THE   FAROE   ISLANDS.  5 1 

Among  other  places,  we  visited  the  school,  occupied 
then  by  the  guests,  and  were  pleased  to  see  in  this 
distant  island  modern  apparatus  for  physical  out-door 
exercise.  Living  as  they  do  chiefly  on  barley  meal, 
milk,  sheep,  fish,  and  sea-fowl  and  their  eggs,  the 
health  of  the  children  is  often  affected  by  the  foul 
air  of  the  houses ;  the  school,  therefore,  not  only 
educates  the  mind,  but  does  much  to  invigorate  the 
body. 

This  gentle-mannered  race  seemed  out  of  place 
amid  the  rugged  scenery,  bleak  rocks,  howling  winds, 
and  stormy  seas  of  the  Faroes ;  we  should  rather 
have  expected  a  coarse,  bold,  semi-savage  horde,  as 
the  legitimate  descendants  of  the  vikings  of  old. 

The  king  was  everywhere  saluted  with  respect,  but 
not  with  enthusiasm,  except  by  his  Danish  subjects  ; 
the  same  indifference  I  noticed  in  Iceland.  The  old 
Scandinavian  independence,  almost  contempt  for 
royalty,  as  such,  was  publicly  manifest ;  they  had 
nothing  to  ask,  and  it  never  entered  their  heads  that 
a  king  of  Denmark,  the  first  that  ever  visited  these 
islands,  had  the  inclination,  if  he  had  the  power,  to 
grant  them  any  political  favors.  His  visit  they  attrib- 
uted to  curiosity,  and  they  gratified  their  own  at  the 
same  time  at  his  expense. 

The  day  had  been  windy  and  rainy,  and  the  night 
was  unpromising ;  we  could  see  that  the  waves  out- 


52  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

side  were  dashing  with  violence  against  the  rocky 
shores,  and  we  retired,  hoping  for  a  calmer  sea  the 
next  day.  Early  the  next  morning  we  sailed,  in  ad- 
vance of  the  royal  vessels,  for  Iceland,  320  miles  to 
the  north-west,  which  we  ought  to  reach,  wind  and 
weather  permitting,  in  about  forty  hours. 

The  Faroese  are  long-lived,  and  the  climate,  not- 
withstanding its  occasional  severity  and  sudden 
changes,  must  be  a  healthy  one,  or,  as  in  Iceland, 
the  race  would  long  ago  have  been  exterminated  by 
the  utter  absence  of  all  sanitary  precautions  to  pre- 
vent disease. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
OFF    FOR    ICELAND. 

Start  for  Iceland.  —  Sunshine  and  Clouds.  —  Song  and 
Dance.  —  Sea-Sickness.  —  The  Kraken  and  Sea-Serpent. — 
Furious  Gale.  —  Westmann  Islands.  —  First  Glimpses  of 
Iceland.  —  The  Dangerous  Coast.  —  Position  and  Size  op 
the  Island.  —  Reykjavik,  the  Capital.  —  Preparations  for 
the  King.  —  First  Impressions  of  the  Town. 

"  Break,  break,  break, 
On  Iceland's  cliffs,  O  Sea ! 
How  I  wish  that  my  tongue  could  tell 
The  thoughts  that  arose  in  me, 
O  land  of  mystery  I 

Break,  break,  break, 
On  her  black  and  jagged  rocks ; 
While  life  shall  last,  the  memory 
Of  thy  tossing  surge,  O  angry  sea  I 
Shall  ever  come  back  to  me." 

"IT  ^E  left  Thorshavn  at  3  A.M.,  July  27th,  the  sea 
being  quiet  for  these  latitudes  ;  the  mists  had 
lifted,  and,  though  the  sky  was  as  usual  overcast,  the 
rocky  shores  were  sufficiently  distinct  to  render  navi- 
gation for  the  practised  eye  easy.  The  sun  bravely 
battled  with  the  obstructing  clouds,  and  finally  ob- 
tained the  victory,  painting  the  lofty  cliffs  with  beau- 
tiful and  ever-changing  hues.     The  temperature  of 


54  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  water  was  52*^  F.  ;  as  this  was  the  middle  of 
summer,  we  saw  nothing  of  the  icebergs  and  fields 
of  ice  which  occur  in  these  seas  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  cutting  off  the  people  of  Iceland  for  sev- 
eral months  at  a  time  from  intercourse  with  the  rest 
of  the  world.  The  north-east  wind  was  chilly,  and 
chased  the  light  clouds  in  a  threatening  manner. 

We  made,  however,  good  progress  all  day,  and  con- 
gratulated ourselves  on  the  exceptionally  pleasant 
voyage  ;  but  we  reckoned  without  our  host,  as  there 
is  no  "  old  probabilities  "  up  there,  except  the  barom- 
eter, whose  faithful  warnings  had  not  yet  told  us  of 
the  approaching  storm.  As  a  prelude  to  the  tempest, 
the  wind  changed  to  the  south,  and  the  warm  air  and 
light  of  night  kept  us  all  on  deck.  Among  the  crew 
was  a  fair  violinist,  who  accompanied  himself  and 
others  in  some  sweet  and  plaintive  Scotch  and  Irish 
songs  ;  his  livelier  strains,  added  to  those  of  a  well- 
played  accordion,  set  the  sailors  dancing  with  great 
glee  for  an  hour  or  two. 

We  had  an  excellent  cook,  and,  with  the  good  ma- 
terials at  his  command,  he  kept  our  table  supplied 
with  such  palatable  viands  that,  in  spite  of  moderate 
and  justifiable  sea-sickness,  we  actually  enjoyed  our 
three  meals  a  day.  From  previous  experience  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  that  brandy,  wine,  and  other  stim- 
ulants were   rather  provocative   than   preventive   of 


OFF  FOR   ICELAND.  55 

sea-sickness  ;  and  I  attribute  my  comparative  free- 
dom from  this  condition,  and  my  ability  to  present 
myself  at  table  when  most  others  absented  them- 
selves, to  my  almost  entire  abstinence  from  spirituous 
compounds. 

I  kept  a  good  lookout  for  two  Scandinavian  celeb- 
rities of  the  ocean,  the  kraken  and  the  sea-serpent. 
The  former,  probably  mythical,  was  a  gigantic  cephal- 
opod,  cuttle-fish  or  squid,  whose  existence,  in  a  less 
exaggerated  form,  the  great  squids  recently  found  on 
the  coast  of  Newfoundland  give  good  reason  to  main- 
tain. The  idea  of  a  sea-serpent  originated  in  northern 
Europe,  and  was  mythological  in  its  first  concep- 
tion. The  Midgard  serpent,  offspring  of  Loki,  which 
girds  the  world  in  its  folds,  and  inhabits  the  deep 
ocean  till  the  "twilight  of  the  gods,"  when  it  and 
Thor  will  kill  each  other,  plays  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  Edda ;  and  the  gradual  passage  of  the  idea  from 
mythology  to  natural  history,  perhaps  from  some 
creature  seen  in  the  northern  seas,  may  be  traced  in 
Olaus  Magnus  and  the  later  sagas,  till  the  Latin  of 
bishop  Pontoppidan  gave  it  currency  in  Europe,  with 
the  natural  additions  of  popular  fancy.  I  had  more 
faith  in  the  sea-serpent ;  this  was  his  year  for  the 
northern  European  seas,  as  he  seems  to  spend  a  year 
alternating  between  the  Norwegian  coast  and  the 
shores  of  America  ;  his  appearance  was  chronicled 


56  AN  AMERICAN   IN  ICELAND. 

in  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1873  and  again  in  1875.  No 
less  an  authority  than  the  late  Professor  Agassiz  has 
stated  in  print  his  belief  in  such  a  creature ;  those 
interested  in  the  subject  are  referred,  for  the  argu- 
ments pro  and  con,  to  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Boston 
Society  of  Natural  History,"  vol.  xvi.,  pp.  337-339, 
for  March  18,  1874.  He  did  not,  however,  present 
himself. 

We  made  a  good  run  all  night  and  the  next  fore- 
noon, and  calculated,  by  dead  reckoning  and  study  of 
the  currents  and  tides,  that  we  could  not  be  far  from 
the  southern  point  of  Iceland,  and  that  in  a  few  hours 
we  should  see  the  icy  mountains  of  the  region  of 
Skaptar  Jokul.  The  wind  began  to  increase,  turning 
more  to  the  westward,  and  with  it  the  waves  ;  the 
clouds  looked  black  and  angry,  and  the  rain  drove  us 
all  below.  The  barometer  kept  falling,  and  the  cap- 
tain, knowing  a  gale  would  soon  be  upon  us,  changed 
his  course  more  to  the  west,  and  more  in  the  face  of 
the  gale.  At  midnight  we  reached  the  Westmann 
Islands ;  after  a  severe  buffeting  from  the  storm, 
every  thing  above  and  below  decks  wet,  we  were  glad 
to  sight  some  low,  dark,  dismal-looking  rocks,  against 
which  the  waves  were  dashing  furiously ;  they  were 
the  outliers  of  the  islands,  west  of  the  southern  point 
of  Iceland.  We  had  hoped  to  make  the  Portland 
Head,  more  to  the  eastward,  and  to  see  the  magnif- 


OFF  FOR    ICELAND.  57 

icent  arch  there  perforated  in  the  rock  by  the  inces^ 
sant  blows  of  the  ocean  surges  driven  by  wind  and 
tide  ;  it  is  about  sixty  feet  high  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide,  affording  shelter  to  innumerable  sea-birds,  the 
rock  itself  rising  much  higher.  Seaward  are  the 
isolated,  needle-shaped  rocks,  very  dangerous  to  navi- 
gators, as,  indeed,  is  the  whole  coast  of  Iceland,  there 
being  not  a  single  lighthouse  along  its  immense,  fog- 
bound and  tempestuous  extent  of  shore. 

These  volcanic  islands,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the 
main-land,  are  of  the  most  dismal  and  forbidding 
aspect ;  as  much  cut  off  from  Iceland,  as  this  is  from 
Europe.  The  few  people  live  on  fish  and  puffins, 
selling  the  feathers  of  the  latter  to  obtain  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  Settled  by  murderers,  plundered  by 
pirates,  they  seem  to  be  very  undesirable  places  of 
residence,  though  the  soil  is  said  to  be  fertile,  and 
loved  by  the  inhabitants. 

So  furious  was  the  gale  that  we  tried  to  put  into 
the  Westmann  Islands,  sending  up  rockets  and  blow- 
ing the  whistle  a  long  time ;  i)ut  as  it  was  midnight 
no  notice  was  taken  of  our  signals,  and  we  were  forced 
to  breast  the  gale.  Had  we  sails  only,  we  must  have 
been  driven  on  a  lee  shore,  whose  jagged  rocks  would 
have  instantly  destroyed  us  ;  but  armed  with  steam 
we  defied  the  wind  and  waves,  and  pushed  on  our 
course,  though  our  staunch  little  craft  fairly  staggered 
3* 


58  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

under  the  heavy  blow's  she  received,  rolHng  and  plung- 
ing so  that  it  was  quite  impossible  for  any  of  us  to 
walk  or  even  stand.  The  coast  was  now  and  then 
visible,  enabling  us  to  keep  at  a  safe  distance.  The 
gale  increased  during  the  night,  and  in  the  morning, 
I  think,  the  breakfast  table  was  deserted  ;  the  captain 
at  his  post  on  the  bridge,  and  his  passengers  tightly 
wedged  in  their  berths.  We  passed  a  miserable  fore- 
noon, but  now  and  then  caught  a  peep  of  high  moun- 
tains, and,  with  the  help  of  a  little  imagination,  of 
white  glaciers  in  the  interior.  At  noon  we  sighted 
Cape  Reykianess,  or  Smoky  Point,  the  south-west 
corner  of  Iceland ;  skirting  along  the  Faxa  fiord,  in 
about  three  hours  we  turned  around  the  northern  arm 
of  the  peninsula,  and  changing  then  our  course  to 
east,  came  into  smoother  water,  in  sight  of  green 
shores,  with  here  and  there  a  low  house  ;  the  view  to 
the  north  was  bounded  by  high  mountains,  among 
which  we  afterward  distinguished  the  famous  Jokul, 
or  ice  mountain  of  Snaefells.  At  last,  the  masts  of 
large  vessels,  the  naval  representatives  of  Denmark, 
Norway,  Sweden,  Germany,  and  France,  and  several 
smaller  craft,  showed  us  that  we  were  in  the  harbor  of 
Reykjavik,  the  capital  of  Iceland. 

Nothing  can  be  more  dreary,  not  to  say  frightful, 
than  the  coast  of  Iceland  seen  through  the  fog  and 
rain,  and  in  the  teeth  of  a  gale  ;  nothing  can  be  more 


OFF   FOR    ICELAND.  59 

magnificent,  when  clear  weather  permits  you  to  look 
beyond  the  shore  to  the  shining-white,  icy  mountains 
in  the  interior.  The  jagged,  black,  surf -beaten  lava 
rocks  tell  of  the  battle  between  fire  and  water,  which 
has  produced  and  desolated  this  island ;  piled  in  utter 
confusion,  they  break  the  force  of  the  waves,  whose 
disintegrating  power  is  seen  in  the  pinnacles  and 
arches  with  which  the  shore  is  lined.  The  most  noted 
of  these  arches  is  the  barren  rock  of  Dyrholarey  (the 
door)  or  Portland  Head,  before  alluded  to,  in  which 
the  ocean  has  perforated  an  arch,  or  gateway,  large 
enough  for  a  small  vessel  to  go  through  ;  the  home 
of  innumerable  sea-birds. 

In  clear  weather,  which  unfortunately  is  rare  in 
these  latitudes,  long  before  tht  coast  is  visible,  small 
white  clouds  appear  on  the  horizon,  which  soon 
become  the  outlines  of  mountains  ;  and  finally  are 
recognized  as  the  magnificent  piles  of  snow-capped 
peaks,  the  so-called  Jokuls  ;  Snaefells  is  seen  more 
than  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  land  ;  and 
Hekla,  glittering  in  the  sun,  its  internal  fires,  at 
present,  not  powerful  enough  to  melt  the  snow  from 
its  summit,  gives  you  the  first  grand  emotion  on 
visiting  Iceland,  long  before  you  touch  it. 

Iceland  is  somewhat  larger  than  Ireland,  and,  next 
to  Great  Britain,  the  largest  island  in  Europe ;  it  is 
in  the  midst  of  the  Northern  Ocean,  between  6;^}4^ 


60  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

and  66y2'  N.  lat.  (at  least  22  degrees  farther  north 
than  Boston),  and  between  13°  and  24°  W.  longitude; 
five  hundred  miles  north-west  of  Scotland,  it  is  about 
as  far  north  as  Behring's  Straits  in  North  America, 
and  the  Bay  of  Trondheim  in  Norway;  in  latitude, 
therefore,  corresponding  very  well  with  the  Alaskan 
settlement  which  the  Iceland  colony  in  Wisconsin 
proposed  to  make.  It  hardly  comes  within  the  arctic 
circle  at  its  most  northern  point.  Its  greatest  extent 
is  from  east  to  west,  varying  from  three  hundred  and 
twenty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles.  About  one- 
ninth  of  its  forty  thousand  square  miles  is  fit  for 
human  habitations,  the  rest  being  deserts  of  snow 
and  ice,  lava,  and  volcanic  ashes.  It  is  only  about 
two  hundred  miles  from  Greenland,  and  thus  geo- 
graphically belongs  rather  to  the  American  conti- 
nent; but  historically  and  politically  it  is  a  part  of 
Europe,  though  this  is  three  hundred  miles  more 
distant. 

Our  passage  to  Iceland  had  been  chilly,  foggy,  and 
rainy,  ending  in  a  furious  gale.  The  approach  to  a 
rock-bound  coast,  in  a  gale  of  wind,  with  no  observa- 
tion of  the  sun  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  not  know- 
ing hotv  far  tidal  and  other  currents  had  interfered 
with  our  reckoning,  was  not  calculated  to  awaken 
pleasurable  emotions,  and  we  were  well  pleased,  there- 
fore, after  tossing  about  two  days  and  a  half,  to  come 


OFF  FOR   ICELAND.  6 1 

to  rest  in  this  quiet  harbor,  bearing  the  news  of  the 
approach  of  the  king  of  Denmark,  whose  fleet  arrived 
the  next  day  at  noon. 

As  we  entered  the  harbor,  a  boat  came  alongside, 
and  an  Icelander,  one  of  the  committee  of  reception, 
indicated  the  place  of  our  anchorage.  The  anchor 
was  hardly  down,  when  an  officer  from  the  Danish 
steamer  boarded  us,  and  politely  informed  us  that  we 
had  placed  our  vessel  in  the  way  of  the  king's  ships. 
Iceland  and  Denmark  had  some  sharp  words  on  the 
subject,  but  gold  lace  triumphed ;  America  and  Eng- 
land, while  wondering  at  the  strange  antipathy  always 
manifested  J3y  the  natives  against  the  Danes,  quietly 
raised  the  anchor  again,  and  took  the  new  position 
assigned  them. 

The  harbor  and  the  shore  presented  the  same  holi- 
day appearance  noticed  in  Thorshavn  ;  the  ships  of 
the  various  nationalities  were  trimmed  with  their 
gayest  strings  of  flags,  and  the  white  cross  on  the 
scarlet  flag  of  Denmark  greeted  the  eyes  in  all 
directions.  As  we  carried  the  American  flag  at  the 
foremast  and  the  English  at  the  stern,  we  ex- 
cited considerable  attention,  and  everybody  wondered 
where  our  rakish-looking  craft  came  from  out  of  the 
jaws  of  the  storm.  The  picture  gives  an  excellent 
view  of  the  fleet  in  the  harbor,  our  steamer  occupying 
a  prominent  place.     We  went  on  shore  as  soon  as 


62  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

possible,  heralding  the  advance  of  the  king,  and  were 
cordially  received  by  the  authorities. 

I  had  expected  to  see  a  dirty,  uncomfortable,  ill- 
arranged  town,  judging  from  the  tales  of  even  the  most 
recent  travellers.  Whether  the  visit  of  the  king  had 
caused  a  change  or  not,  I  cannot  say,  but  we  found 
the  place  tidy,  the  houses  well-built  and  very  pleasant, 
the  streets  clean,  and  every  indication  of  a  prosper- 
ous, well-ordered,  and  intelligent  community.  The 
shore  was  lined  with  boats,  the  harbor  gay  with  mer- 
chant and  war  vessels,  and  every  thing  had  a  cheerful 
look,  far  more  so  than  many  of  the  fishing  towns  of 
Scotland  and  the  northern  islands.  Piles  of  fish  indi- 
cated the  chief  business  of  the  people,  and  in  some 
cases  were  not  agreeable  to  the  senses  of  sight  and 
smell ;  but  the  respectful  salutations  of  the  citizens, 
the  neatness  of  their  dress,  the  flowers  and  other  evi- 
dences of  refinement  outside  and  inside  the  houses, 
the  crowds  in  the  stores,  the  trains  of  ponies,  gave 
me  a  very  good  first  impression  of  the  capital  of  Ice- 
land. The  houses  are  of  the  same  style  as  in  the 
Faroes,  the  governor's  house,  the  church,  and  the 
prison  being  built  of  lava  blocks,  the  better  ones  ol 
wood  painted  or  tarred,  and  those  of  the  poorei 
classes  of  lava  and  turf,  with  the  roof  overgrown  wit! 
grass. 

We  lived  on  board  our  steamer,  remaining  quiet 


OFF   FOR   ICELAND.  63 

for  three  days  in  port,  awaiting  the  beginning  of  the 
millennial  celebration,  which  was  to  last  a  week, 
commencing  Sunday,  August  2.  The  time  passed 
very  pleasantly,  visiting  the  officials,  and  observing 
the  habits  of  the  people.  They  are  a  strange  com- 
pound of  indifference  and  energy,  like  their  country, 
which  exhibits  the  coldness  and  stillness  of  snow 
with  the  fiery  activity  of  the  volcano.  The  society 
of  the  capital,  chiefly  Icelandic,  is  refined  ;  their  baHs 
showed  a  beauty  of  feature  and  form  and  elegance  of 
dress  which  one  would  hardly  expect  so  near  the 
arctic  circle  ;  the  university  and  public  library  attract 
students  from  all  parts  of  the  island,  and  some  of 
its  professors  are  very  learned  men,  especially  in  the 
departments  of  history  and  antiquities  of  the  Scan- 
dinavian races.  Three  newspapers  in  the  Icelandic 
language  are  published  weekly  in  the  capital. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK. 

Reykjavik.  —  Streets  and  Houses.  —  Visits  to  Officials.  — 
.,  Arrival  of  the  Royal  Fleet.  —  Reception  of  the  King 
BY  THE  People.  —  Hot  Springs.  —  Salmon.  —  Services  in 
the  Church.  —  Sweet  Singing.  —  The  Millennial  Na- 
tional Hymn.  —  Royal  Banquet.  —  The  King's  Toast. — 
Festivities  on  the  hill  of  Oskjuhlid  —  Bayard  Tay- 
lor's Poetic  Greeting  to  Iceland.  —  Hyperborean  Merry- 
making. —  Dreary  Surroundings.  —  End  of  the  First 
Day's  Celebration. 

"  We  come,  the  children  of  thy  Vinland, 
The  youngest  of  the  world's  high  peers, 
O  land  of  steel  and  song  and  saga, 
To  greet  thy  glorious  thousand  years  ! 

What  though  thy  native  harps  be  silent, 
The  chord  they  struck  shall  ours  prolong; 

We  claim  thee  kindred,  call  thee  mother, 
O  land  of  saga,  steel,  and  song  !  " 

1VTUMEROUS  boats  were  drawn  up  on  the  part  of 
the  beach  at  which  we  landed;  we  drew  up 
alongside  of  one  of  the  several  piers,  long  and  slanting, 
the  greater  portion  of  which  is  covered  at  high  tide, 
which  is  said  to  rise  here  seventeen  feet.  The  streets 
were  level,  black  from  volcanic  sand,  wider  and 
cleaner   than   at   Thorshavn ;    many   of    the   houses 


CELEBRATION   AT   REYKJAVIK.  65 

would  do  credit  to  a  New-England  village,  in  external 
appearance  and  interior  arrangement  and  decoration  ; 
we  saw  all  the  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
life,  including  objects  of  art,  flowers,  and  instruments 
of  music.  The  stores  were  much  crowded,  and  their 
contents  of  that  miscellaneous  character  well  known 
in  our  country  towns ;  here,  if  anywhere,  is  a  legiti- 
mate codfish  aristocracy,  as  these  finny  inhabitants 
of  the  deep  are  what  induce  vessels  of  France  and 
northern  nations  to  cruise  in  Icelandic  waters,  en- 
riching by  the  exchange  of  commodities  the  Danish 
merchants,  who  have  the  monopoly  of  the  best  trade. 
Very  little  idea  of  the  native  population  can  be  ob- 
tained at  the  capital,  where  Danes  and  otTier  foreign- 
ers constitute  a  large  part  of  the  residents  ;  neither 
the  physical,  intellectual,  nor  mental  characteristics 
of  the  Icelander  can  be  seen  to  perfection  there ;  we 
were,  however,  peculiarly  fortunate,  as  the  expected 
arrival  of  the  king  of  Denmark  had  brought  them  in 
considerable  numbers  from  the  neighboring  farms. 

We  first  paid  our  respects  to  Governor  Finsen,  whose 
house,  represented  in  the  picture,  was  the  royal  head- 
quarters ;  he  could  not  give  us  much  attention,  and 
indeed  we  neither  expected  nor  desired  it ;  he  con- 
versed with  us  in  French,  but  not  in  English,  and 
promised  to  secure  seats  for  us  in  the  cathedral  on 
Sunday.     I   carried  several  volumes  and  pamphlets, 


66  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

published  by  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  Historv 
and  Institute  of  Technology,  for  their  public  librar) 
which  I  presented  through  Dr.  John  Hjaltalin,  M.D 
the  principal  physician  of  the  country,  and  well  versc' 
in  antiquarian  and  scientific  lore ;  he  spoke  English 
very  well,  and  received  us  in  the  most  cordial  man 
ner ;  his  father  was  a  parish  priest  mentioned  b 
Mackenzie,  and  he  himself  had  studied  his  professioi ; 
at  Copenhagen,  had  visited  Scotland,  and  was  we] 
posted  in  the  various  departments  of  natural  science 
He  is  the  "jovial  Dr.  Hjaltalin"  alluded  to  by  Lon 
Dufferin,  in  1856,  in  his  "Letters  from  High  Lati 
tudes." 

On  Saturday,  August  I,  it  was  chilly,  misty,  wind)' 
and  rainy.  At  10  a.m.,  when  the  royal  fleet  was  sig 
nailed,  the  ships  and  houses  put  out  all  the  flags  anc 
streamers  they  could  muster,  and  the  harbor  an( 
shore  exhibited  a  brilliancy  of  color  never  seen  then 
before.  Toward  noon,  the  two  frigates,  with  the  roya 
standard  at  the  mast-head,  passed,  'mid  the  booming 
of  cannon,  through  the  ranks  of  the  other  nationa 
vessels,  whose  yards  were  manned  in  spite  of  tb 
rain,  to  their  assigned  anchorage.  Even  the  littl' 
"Albion"  spoke  on  this  occasion,  both  for  Americ 
and  England,  with  her  brass  pieces,  one  of  whicl 
turned  fairly  topsy-turvy  in  its  noisy  joy  ;  as  our. 
did  not  open  their  mouths  till  the  grander  salutes  ha- 


CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK,  6/ 

been  paid,  their  spiteful  bark  created  quite  a  sensa- 
tion. 

The  governor  and  other  officials  at  once  went  on 
board,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  the  king  and  his 
suite  entered  their  boats  and  went  ashore,  where  a 
sloping  wharf,  tastefully  decorated,  had  been  built  for 
his  landing.  After  a  few  formal  speeches  from  the 
authorities,  without  the  fatal  result  experienced  at 
Thorshavn,  and  a  faint  cheer  from  the  nearest  by- 
standers, the  king  and  his  son,  Waldemar,  walked  up 
the  pier  amid  the  respectful,  but  not  cheery  demon- 
strations of  the  two  hundred  people  in  the  streets  ; 
they  walked  in  procession  to  the  governor's  house, 
where  we  will  leave  them,  to  receive  the  various  depu- 
tations from  the  citizens,  each  of  which  had  its  little 
official  speech  to  make,  to  which  a  respectful  audi- 
ence and  reply  were  granted. 

Reykjavik  means  "  Smoking  Harbor,"  as  Reykia- 
ness  means  "  Smoking  Point,"  both  evincing  the  fiery 
agencies  once  active  there ;  but  both  are  now  misno- 
mers, especially  the  first,  as  the  warm  springs,  which 
gave  the  name,  now  give  no  aerial  sign.  Some  of  our 
party  went  in  search  of  them,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  captain,  who  had  visited  them  a  few  years  before  ; 
but  as  they  now  issue  under  water  they  could  not  be 
found  ;  and  their  natural  wash-tub,  formerly  so  con- 
venient to  sailors,  has  well-nigh  ceased  to  exist. 


68  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

One  of  the  greatest  treats  we  had  was  the  fine 
salmon  of  Iceland.  Mr.  Thomsen,  a  Danish  merchant, 
has  the  sole  right  of  fishing  in  the  Lax  River  ;  he  has 
constructed  ways  leading  by  small  cascades  to  boxes, 
up  which  the  frisky  fish  jump,  being  therein  detained 
till  wanted  for  use.  Some  of  our  party  went  out 
there  a  few  miles  on  horseback,  as  a  first  lesson  in 
riding  the  native  ponies,  and  enjoyed  the  felicity  of 
scooping  up  a  few  fair  ones  in  a  net ;  the  poor  crea- 
tures could  not  escape,  affording  no  more  sport  than 
taking  them  out  of  a  tub  ;  such  piscatorial  murder 
could  only  disgust  a  lover  of  the  rod  and  reel.  Royalty 
had  scooped  the  day  before,  so  that  the  fish  obtained 
on  this  occasion  were  not  large. 

Sunday,  August  2,  the  first  day  of  the  millennial 
celebration,  was  windy  and  chilly  ;  but  the  sun  shone, 
and  the  air  was  so  clear  that  we  could  distinctly  see 
the  Snaefells  Jokul,  some  sixty-five  miles  distant  to 
the  north-west,  its  icy  whiteness  beautifully  contrast- 
ing with  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky. 

The  week's  programme  for  the  celebration  was  as 
follows  :  —  First  day  ;  church  festival,  state  dinner, 
and  popular  demonstrations  in  the  evening:  second 
day  ;  formal  welcome  at  Thingvalla,  forty  miles  from 
the  capital :  third  day  ;  arrival  at  the  Geysers  :  fourth 
day  ;  inspection  of  these  wonderful  hot  springs  :  fifth 
day  ;  return  to  Thingvalla :    sixth  day  ;    grand  recep- 


CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK.  69 

tion  and  entertainment  on  the  part  of  the  people: 
seventh  day  ;  return  to  the  capital  and  formal  visits  : 
eighth  day,  Sunday  ;  grand  ball,  ending  the  millennial 
celebration  of  1874. 

Going  on  shore  about  10  a.m.,  we  at  once  went  to 
the  square  where  the  church  is  situated.  Among  the 
crowd,  we  saw  some  of  the  picturesque  helmets  and 
other  articles  of  female  costume,  described  hereafter ; 
the  men  were  dressed  very  much  like  the  Faroese. 

The  church  was  rather  an  old  building  of  brick, 
stone,  and  stucco  ;  dingy  and  dilapidated  ;  capable  of 
seating  some  twelve  hundred  persons  ;  the  interior  is 
dismal,  the  colors  faded,  and  the  light  and  ventilation 
poor,  though  in  the  last  two  respects  not  so  bad  as 
some  costly  modern  churches,  whose  congregations 
evidently  think  that  a  dim  religious  light  adds  to  the 
solemnity  befitting  a  sacred  edifice.  Thorwaldsen, 
the  famous  sculptor,  claimed  by  Denmark,  was  the 
son  of  an  Icelander,  born  at  sea,  Nov.  19,  1770;  and 
a  baptismal  font  made  and  presented  by  him  in  token 
of  his  birth,  in  no  way  beautiful,  is  the  only  note- 
worthy object  in  the  cathedral. 

Having  seats  reserved  for  us,  we  had  good  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  national  costume,  and  especially  the 
helmet-like  head  dresses  and  gaily  embroidered  jackets 
and  veils  of  the  women.  The  services  were  of  the 
same  semi-Romish,  semi-Lutheran  character  as  at  the 


70  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Faroes,  and  in  the  sermon  the  berobed  and  beruffed 
bishop  seemed  to  have  a  hard  struggle  between  the 
dignity  of  the  occasion  and  the  consequences  of  a 
nose  full  of  snuff,  whose  visible  manifestations  were 
two  dark-colored  streams  from  his  nostrils,  which, 
carried  away  by  the  fervor  of  his  eloquence,  he  did 
not  always  succeed  in  arresting  before  they  became 
conspicuous. 

I  understood  not  a  word  of  the  sermon,  and  there 
was  no  appearance  of  interest  or  attention  in  the 
audience  ;  I  understood  hardly  any  thing  of  the  hymns 
sung,  and  yet  I  do  not  remember  of  ever  having  been 
so  affected  by  music ;  sweet,  solemn,  and  slightly 
plaintive,  the  chorus  of  "  Iceland's  thousand  years," 
words  and  music  of  Icelandic  origin,  brought  tears  into 
most  eyes,  and  I  am  sure  it  did  into  mine. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Millennial  Hymn 
sung  in  the  church,  the  words  by  Matthias  Jochumson, 
and  the  music  by  Svb.  Sveinbjornsson. 


g-i|i:eE¥E: 


s  lands,     6     lands  \ 
ur  land,    O       our  l 


gud  vors  lands,     6     lands  vors  gud !       vjer 
God  of  our  land,    O       our  land's  God  !    We 


_._!_ 


T 


i-^-- 


-=$ese^^^3::e^e± 


CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK. 


71 


lof-um   J>itt     hei  -  lag  -  a,      hei  -  lag  -  a     nafn.     Ur 
praise  thy  ho  -  l_y,  ho   -    \y     name.     From 


W^^^^^^ 


I 
-ann-a      knyt-a     Her  krans,    Hnir 


I 

s61  -  ker-fum  himn-ann-a      kn^t-a     bj^r  krans,    Hnir 
solar  sjbtems  of  the  heavens  wind  thee  a  wreath,    thy 


iA=d 


P3^: 


'=^^=f-- 


3^3==^ 


her  -  skar-ar,   tim     ann-a      safn. 
le  -  gions  the  times'  col-lec  -  tions. 


k^=f=^- 


r  7 

Fyr  -  ir 
Be  -  fore 


J>jer     er    einn  dag-ur  sem    bus  -  und     dr  og 

thee     is     one    day  as   thousand    years,     and 


til 


% 


r— ^-|»'^3-;- 

^ f/ 1 ^_ m — 


V h-- 


::t 


^-t- 


1? 


72 


AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 


bus  -  und    dr    dag  -  ur,     ei       meir, 
thousand  years  one  day,  not   more, 


sy|-fez=iT=p=t=c:=zt=t:=ri?z=:^ 


eitt 
one 


K — 


ei  -  h'fd  -  ar  smd-bl6m  med  titr  -  and  -  i     tdr,      f>em 
eter-  nitj's  small  flower  with  quiver -ing  tears  which 


l=±:^^—\t-^ 


3      5        r        i>      L?      r 


til   -   bid   -   ur    gud     sinn   og     deyr. 
a    -     dores  its       God  and    dies. 


iS^; 


-h 


p==:p-Ti^:- 


Is-lands 
Iceland's 


i=^ 


I] « q 1 — «— p-« 1 0  - 


Kisund         dr,      Is-lands    >usund       ar 
thousand   years,  Iceland's  thousand  years 

INN                            ^ 
t ^0-^-1 p « — 

-^ r- • — 


ai?iiii!^i 


eitt 
one 


CELEBRATION  AT   REYKJAVIK. 


n 


^^s: 


-N-, 


m^^m^^^i 


T       '       • 
ei  -  li'fd  -  ar  8md-bl6m  med  litr  -  and 


i       tdr,     sem 
ternit_y's  small  flower  with  quiv-er-ing     tear  which 


: h- 


-N— -N- 


i=i=i=t 


if 


til  -  bid  -  ur    gud    sinn  og        devr. 
wor  -  ships         its      God  and       dies. 


The  following  are  two  other  verses  and  their  trans- 
lation ;  the  sign  *  ]> '  is  pronounced  like  *  th.' 


2. 

O  gud,  6  gud !  vfer  folium  fram 

Og  f6rnum  ^er  |   :  brennandi :  |  sdl, 

Gud  fadir,  vor  drottinn  frd  kjni  til  kjns, 

Og  kvokum  vort  helgasta  mal ; 

Vjer  kvdkum  og  bdkkum  { )>usund  dr, 

pvi  \>\x  ert  vort  einasta  skjdl ; 

Vjer  kvdkum  og  bokkum  med  titrandi  tdr,  - 

pvi  \><x  tilbj6st  vort  forlaga  hj61. 

I  :  Islands  J>usund  dr :  ) 
Voru  morgunsins  hi^mkoldu  hrjnjandi  tir, 
Sem  hitna  vid  skinandi  s61. 


74  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

3- 

O  gud  vors  lands,  6  lands  vors  gud! 

Vjer  lifum  sem  |  :  blaktandi :  |  strd. 

Vjer  dejjum  ef  ^u  ert  ei  lj6s  )>ad  og  lif, 

Sem  ad  Ijptir  oss  duj^tinu  frd. 

O  vert  \>\x  hvern  morgun  vort  Ijufasta  lif 

Og  vor  leidogi'  i  daganna  Iraut, 

Og  d  kvoldin  vor  himneska  hvild  og  vorhlif, 

Og  vor  hertogi  a  l^jddlifsins  braut. 

I   :  Islands  )>usund  dr :  | 
Verdi  gr6andi  }>j6dlif  med  ^verrandi  tdr, 
Sem  ]?roskast  d  gudsrikis  braut. 

2. 
O  God,  O  God,  we  fall  prostrate 
And  offer  Thee  our  burning  soul : 
God  father,  our  Lord  from  kin  to  kin 
And  cry  our  holiest  speech ; 

"We  cry  (have  cried)  and  we  thank  (ed)  for  thousand  years 
For  Thou  art  our  only  defence ; 
We  cry,  and  we  thank  with  our  quivering  tears, 
For  Thou  madest  the  wheel  of  our  fate. 

Iceland's  thousand  years 
Were  the  morning's  chilly  and  down-flowing  tears 
Which  warm  up  by  the  shining  sun. 

3- 

O  God  of  our  land,  O  our  land's  God  I 

We  live  as  trembling  straws. 

We  die  if  Thou  art  not  our  light,  and  the  life 

Which  lifts  us  up  from  the  dust. 

O  be  Thou  each  morning  our  sweetest  life, 

And  our  guide  through  the  trouble  of  days; 

And  at  eve  be  our  heavenly  rest  and  our  shield; 

And  our  captain  through  our  national  path. 

Iceland's  thousand  j'ears, 
Be  they  a  growing,  a  national  life,  with  lessening  tears, 
And  may  it  increase  on  the  heavenly  kingdom's  path. 


CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK,  75 

After  the  services  in  the  church,  the  people  dis- 
persed, most  of  them  going  to  the  hill  of  Oskjuhlid, 
about  three  miles  from  town,  where  addresses,  histori- 
cal reminiscences,  songs,  dances,  and  fireworks,  were 
to  conclude  the  day.  The  king  gave  a  dinner  in  the 
afternoon,  to  which  most  of  our  party  were  invited, 
and^  such  of  them  as  had  swallow-tails  and  white 
chokers  went  thereto  ;  by  some  carelessness  or  inat- 
tention they  were  not  introduced  individually,  but 
simply  as  American  guests.  They  were  politely  and 
graciously  received,  and  the  dinner  passed  off  admi- 
rably ;  being  indisposed,  I  did  not  go,  and  so  cannot 
give  any  details.     My  invitation  ran  as  follows  : 

IFOLGE   ALLERHOIESTE    BEFALING   TILSIGES 

HR.    DR.    SAMUEL    KNEELAND 

Til  Taffel  hos   Hans   MAjESTiEX  Kongen, 

D.  2  August  1874,  Kl.  4. 

HOLTEN. 
Paakladningbn  :  Gala. 

Every  thing,  even  to  the  dishes,  it  is  said,  came 
from  Copenhagen,  so  that  it  was  in  no  sense,  except 
geographically,  an  Icelandic  dinner,  unlike  the  one 
given  by  the  people  to  the  king  at  Thingvalla. 

After  the  dinner,  the  king  expressed  his  gratifica- 
tion at  the  manner  in  which  the  people  had  received 
him,  and  the  hope  that  the  country  would  begin  a 


76  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

new  era  of  development  from  the  operation  of  the 
new  constitution  which  had  been  given  to  it.  He 
then  rose,  and  gave  as  a  toast,  "  Long  live  old  Ice- 
land," at  which  cheering  from  the  guests,  music  from 
the  band,  and  the  roar  of  cannon  from  the  ships,  min- 
gled in  patriotic  and  not  discordant  sound.  Other 
sentiments  followed,  with  social  intercourse  ;  and  then 
the  host  and  his  guests  departed  from  the  University 
building,  where  the  dinner  had  been  given,  to  the 
hill  where  the  evening  celebration  was  to  take  place. 

Everybody  walked  ;  the  road  was  good,  but  the  sur- 
roundings were  dismal  in  the  extreme ;  along  the 
gently  sloping  hill  were  walking  parties  of  men  and 
women,  mostly  in  holiday  attire,  toward  the  barren 
'summit  now  gay  with  flags,  tents,  and  many-colored 
dresses.  We  toiled  along  with  the  rest,  and  in  about 
an  hour,  at  7  p.m.,  reached  the  top,  where  over  a  thou- 
sand people  were  assembled.  Some  were  congregated 
about  the  stands  for  speeches,  others  were  dancing 
to  rude  music  (and  this  on  Sunday  night  too),  while 
most  were  lounging  listlessly  about,  trying  to  appear 
to  be  having  a  good  time. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  king,  native  songs  and 
speeches  followed  in  quick  succession,  the  former 
very  pleasing  in  their  melody,  and  the  latter  patriotic 
and  no  doubt  satisfactory  to  those  who  understood 
them.     All  the  northern  nations  of  Europe  were  rep- 


CELEBRATION  AT   REYKJAVIK.  77 

resented  except  Great  Britain ;  this  last  was  to  me 
astonishing  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  future  queen 
of  England,  beloved  by  the  nation,  is  the  daughter  of 
Christian  the  Ninth  of  Denmark. 

The  everywhere-present,  irrepressible  American, 
received  honorable  mention  and  enthusiastic  recep- 
tion for  stanzas  composed  by  Bayard  Taylor,  one  of 
the  "American  Expeditionists."  It  came  about  in 
this  wise,  in  his  own  words :  "  Two  days  ago  we  were 
discussing,  in  the  cabin  of  our  steamer,  the  question 
whether  we,  in  our  capacity  as  Americans,  should 
make  even  an  unofficial  representation  at  this  festi- 
val. We  knew  that  the  Icelanders  desired  that  our 
presence,  which  seemed  to  be  welcome  to  them, 
should  be  in  some  way  manifested ;  yet  it  seemed 
difficult  to  decide  how  this  should  be  done.  The 
proposal,  on  my  part,  to  address  a  poetic  greeting  to 
Iceland,  was  so  cordially  received  by  my  companions 
that  I  could  only  comply.  The  stanzas  which  follow 
were  written  in  all  haste,  in  the  midst  of  distracting 
talk,  and  make  no  claim  to  any  poetic  merit." 

Tney  are  entitled  "  America  to  Iceland  ; "  the  first 
and  last  stanzas  are  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 

*'  We  come,  the  children  of  thy  Vinland, 
The  youngest  of  the  world's  high  peers, 
O  land  of  steel,  and  song,  and  saga, 
To  greet  thy  glorious  thousand  years. 


78  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Across  that  sea  the  son  of  Erik 

Dared  with  his  venturous  dragon's  prow; 

From  shores  where  Thorfinn  set  thy  banner 
Their  latest  children  seek  thee  now. 

Hail,  mother  land  of  skalds  and  heroes, 

By  love  of  freedom  hither  hurled; 
Fire  in  their  hearts  as  in  thy  mountains, 

And  strength  like  thine  to  shake  the  world  I 

When  war  and  ravage  wrecked  the  nations, 
The  bird  of  song  made  thee  her  home; 

The  ancient  gods,  the  ancient  glory. 
Still  dwelt  within  thy  shores  of  foam. 

Here,  as  a  fount  may  keep  its  virtue 

While  all  the  rivers  turbid  run. 
The  manly  growth  of  deed  and  daring 

Was  thine  beneath  a  scantier  sun. 

Set  far  apart,  neglected,  exiled. 
Thy  children  wrote  their  runes  of  pride, 

With  power  that  brings,  in  this  thy  triumph, 
The  conquering  nations  to  thy  side. 

What  though  thy  native  harps  be  silent? 

The  chord  fhey  struck  shall  ours  prolong; 
We  claim  thee  kindred,  call  thee  mother, 

O  land  of  saga,  steel,  and  song! " 

Here  also  is  the  translation  into  Icelandic  verse  by 
Matthias  Jochumsson.  Notice  will  here  be  taken  of 
the  fiist  letter  of  the  fourth  word  in  the  first  line, 
which  represents  our  "th." 


CELEBRATION  AT  REYKJAVIK.  79 


AMERIKA  TIL   ISLANDS. 

H6r  koma  born  bins  bjarta  Vi'nlands, 
Sem  byggjum  yngstu  heimsins  grund, 
pu  settland  kappa,  songs  eg  sogu, 
A^  signa  hig  d  frajgtSarstund  I 

V^r  hleyptum  skei'S,  >ar  Eiri'ks  arfi, 
Hinn  6gnum-pru"5i  sigla  nam; 
Og  J>ar  sem  fdnar  |>orf  i  n  n  s  gnaBf"5u, 
V^r  )>orfinns  ni'Sjar,  settum  fram. 

Heill,  heill  >er  moSir  hetju  skdlda, 
Er  hinga^  leiddi  frelsis-ortS, 
Me^  eld  sem  M  f  efldum  barmi, 
Og  afl  sem  >u  alS  bifa  stortSI 

\>ii  tr^'lltur  ofsi  eyddi  J>j6^um, 
Nam  andans  svanur  \\kx  sin  lond, 
Og  hei^in  go's  og  fraeg^in  forna 
Her  festu  bygg'S  d  saebrims-strond. 

Og  eins  og  lindin  hrein  sfer  heldur, 
p6tt  hlaupi  d  akra  leirug  ^6"$, 
pitt  afl  og  lj6s  og  lifsins  dugur 
Hir  lif«i  d  s61ar-kaldri  sl6«. 

pdtt  gleymd,  og  hrjd^  og  hrakin  vaerir, 
pin  hetjuj>j6^  sk6p  frae^ar  nin, 
Er  sei^ir  til  Hn  sigur^jd'Sir 
A"5  sjd  {  dag  J>i  n  frsegu  tiin. 

Og  J><5tt  Hn  harpa  J>agna  eigi, 
Skal  t>j65  vor  lengja  brostin  lj6^: 
V^r  koUum  hind  J>itt  kjnland,  m6"5ir, 
pCi  kappa,  skdlda,  sogu  hj6t$I 


80  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

This  probably  gave  more  satisfaction  to  the  people 
than  any  other  feature  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  day. 
In  their  republican  independence,  they  loved  not 
kings,  and  looked  with  silent  indifference  on  the 
provisions  of  the  new  constitution,  which  they  would 
not  regard  as  a  boon,  claiming  it  and  more  as  a  right; 
but  they  would  not  ignore  the  fact  that  a  party  of 
American  republicans  had  come  nearly  four  thousand 
miles  to  be  present  at  their  millennial  celebration, 
and  to  offer  in  this  way  the  greetings  of  the  youngest 
to  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  northern  nations.  The 
historical  connection  of  Iceland  with  America  long 
before  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  and  the  possible  emi- 
gration of  some  of  the  present  inhabitants  to  our  north- 
west coast,  —  the  Iceland  of  America,  —  an  exodus 
which  will  be  increased  and  hastened  by  the  terrible 
volcanic  eruption  of  1875,  —  made  this  occasion  espe- 
cially interesting.  The  poem  and  subsequent  speech 
by  Mr.  Taylor,  who  was  introduced  as  the  "  Skald 
from  America,"  were  received  with  the  greatest  en- 
thusiasm of  the  day ;  and  the  halo  which  surrounded 
his  head  reflected  a  few  beams  on  his  prosaic  com- 
panions. 

There  was  nothing  peculiar  in  the  dances,  which 
resembled  the  modern  hugging  and  hopping  gymnas- 
tics called  waltzes,  polkas,  mazurkas,  &c. ;  with  much 
activity  there  was  not  much  grace,  and  the  music  was 


CELEBRATION  AT   REYKJAVIK.  8 1 

not  of  an  inspiring  character;  still  the  picturesque 
head-dresses,  the  rosy  complexions,  and  the  luxuriant 
hair  of  the  dancers,  made  it  a  scene  very  pleasant  to 
contemplate. 

The  wind  was  keen  and  strong,  and  it  required  a 
good  deal  of  imagination  to  call  it  amusement  at  a 
temperature  in  which  an  overcoat  was  decidedly  com- 
fortable ;  yet  the  girls,  in  their  white  dresses,  flitted 
about  as  ours  would  at  a  July  picnic.  His  majesty 
and  suite  soon  departed  for  the  city,  and  we  for  our 
steamer,  to  rest  and  get  ready  on  the  morrow  to  take 
a  horseback  ride  of  ninety  miles  into  the  interior  as 
far  as  the  Geysers.  The  way  back  was  tedious,  as  we 
were  cold  and  tired ;  hardly  any  thing  but  bleak  and 
barren  stone-covered  hills  and  fields  met  the  sight  ; 
the  ocean  in  front  and  the  distant  volcanic  hills  behind 
us ;  huge  piles  of  peat  drying  in  the  sun  for  winter 
fuel  added  to  the  blackness  of  the  landscape  ;  not  a 
vestige  of  human  habitation  till  we  came  to  the  city, 
and  then  the  observatory  (unused)  and  the  jail  (unoc- 
cupied) were  the  most  prominent  features.  The  jail, 
of  stone,  one  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  place,  has 
never  had  an  occupant,  and,  apparently,  was  built  so 
strongly  to  keep  the  poorly  housed  fishermen  from 
breaking  into  it  and  enjoying  its  comfortable  quarters. 
This  speaks  well  for  the  community,  whose  harmless 
character  is  also  vouched  for  by  the  fact  that,  in  a 


82  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

place  of  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  there  is  one 
policeman,  or  watchman,  in  winter,  and  two  in  sum- 
mer, when  wicked  foreigners  visit  their  distant  shores. 

Nothing  occurred  to  mar  the  happiness  of  the  day, 
except  the  severe  wounding  of  two  gunners  by  the 
premature  explosion  of  a  hand  grenade  among  the 
lava  rocks. 

We  did  not  wait  to  see  the  fireworks  at  1 1  ^  p.m. 
I  have  a  good-sized  handbill  announcing  the  order 
and  method  of  performance,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  translation,  line  for  line : — 

NATION'S     HIGH     TIDE     (THJODHATID) 

At    OSKJUHLID    (Basket    Slope    Hjll), 

On    SUNDAY,    AUGUST    2,    1874, 

At  3>^   P.M. 

The  people  will  gather  together  at  the  east  wall  (Austur- 
velli),  and  go  thence  in  procession,  six  abreast,  to  the  place 
of  festival. 

From  4  to  6>^  o'clock, 
SPEECHES    AND    SONGS. 

From  6X  to  11^, 
Amusements,  such  as  Songs,  Music,  Dancing,  &c. 

From  II X» 
Fireworks  (Flugeldar  Miklir),  literally  great  flying  fires. 

Each  one  who  wishes  to  be  inside  the  cleared  space  must 
wear  a  badge,  which  costs  16  skillings  (8  cents). 

And  so  ended  the  first  day  of  the  Iceland  Millennial. 


CHAPTER    VI. 
PHYSICAL    CHARACTERS    OF    ICELAND. 

The  Northern  Ice.  —  Blockade  of  the  North  Shore.  — 
Climate.  —  Safeguard  of  Northern  Europe.  —  Chains  of 
JoKULs  or  Snowy  Mountains.  —  Glaciers.  —  Volcanic  Ori- 
gin OF  Island.  —  Fiords  and  Settlements.  —  Difficult 
Travelling.  —  Desert  of  Iceland.  —  Rivers.  —  Waterfalls. 
—  Lakes.  —  North  Coast.  —  North-western  Peninsula.  — 
Religious  Ideas  as  influenced  by  Physical  Characters 
OF  A  Country.  —  The  Olympus  of  Jupiter  and  Walhalla. 
OF  Thor. 

"  Land  of  volcano  and  of  fire, 

Of  icy  mountains,  deserts  hoar. 
Of  roaring  floods,  and  earthquakes  dire, 

And  legendary  lore  ! 
Land  of  a  thousand  sea-kings'  graves,  — 

Those  tameless  spirits  <5f  the  past. 
Fierce  as  their  subject  arctic  waves, 

Or  hyperborean  blast,  — 
The  polar  billows  round  thee  foam, 
O  Iceland  !  long  the  Norsemen's  home." 

"D  EFORE  describing  our  journey  into  the  interior, 
some  account  of  the  physical  characters  of  Ice- 
land will  render  the  subsequent  chapters  more  inter- 
esting and  intelligible. 

It  had  been  my  hope,  when  I  left  America,  ignorant 
of  the  subsequent  composition  of  our  party,  to  go 
north,  before  the  celebration,  as  far  as  the  island  of 


84  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Jan  Meyen,  in  lat.  71°,  and  to  the  region  of  the  mid- 
night sun,  for  which  at  southern  Iceland  we  were  a 
little  too  late.  We  were  informed  by  the  captain  of 
the  Danish  frigate  on  the  station,  just  returned  from 
the  north-west  of  the  island,  that  the  northern  coast 
was  so  blocked  by  ice  that  it  would  be  dangerous,  if 
not  impossible,  for  us  to  penetrate  to  the  north  in 
that  direction ;  the  necessary  abandonment  of  that 
part  of  our  trip,  from  this  and  other  causes,  led  me  to 
investigate  the  relation  of  the  geographical  position 
of  Iceland  to  the  movements  of  the  polar  ice ;  and  I 
found  in  a  communication  from  Baron  Letourneur, 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  French  navy  in  Ice- 
land, some  very  interesting  observations  on  this  sub- 
ject made  by  him  during  two  consecutive  summers. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  Iceland,  from 
a  civilized  point  of  view,  is  the  highest  inhabitable 
and  most  remarkable  meteorological  position  on  the 
globe,  —  on  the  line  of  separation  between  the  two 
great  oceanic  currents  of  this  region,  the  cold  waters 
from  the  north  going  south,  and  the  warm  waters  of 
the  gulf  stream  going  north,  and  at  precisely  the 
point  where  these  two  great  currents  act  together 
with  the  greatest  energy.  For  one  thousand  years, 
just  terminated,  Iceland  has  been  the  advanced  sen- 
tinel of  political  and  intellectual  progress  in  Europe, 
it  should  now  add  meteorology  to  the  list  of  its  culti- 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       85 

vated  sciences.  When  the  sun  in  winter  leaves  these 
regions,  the  great  depression  of  temperature  forms 
the  immense  icy  barrier  which  extends  from  Green- 
land to  Jan  Meyen,  Spitzbergen,  and  Nova  Zembla ; 
and  Iceland  is  embraced  in  the  south  portion  of  this 
field,  isolated  and  unapproachable  at  this  season, 
hardly  even  sustaining  the  lives  of  its  people,  without 
aid  from  the  products  of  more  favored  lands. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  rises  in  the  northern  hemis- 
phere, and  the  air  gradually  becomes  warmer,  loud 
crackings  in  the  ice  announce  its  breaking  up  and  its 
commencing  movements,  which  are  hastened  by  the 
fierce  storms  from  the  south  which  then  prevail. 
Carried  south  by  the  polar  current,  they  reach  Ice- 
land in  the  beginning  of  spring ;  the  larger  and  more 
detached  masses  moving  slowly  over  an  immense 
extent,  meeting  more  obstacles  from  the  land  toward 
the  south,  arrest  the  masses  to  the  north,  until  the 
pressure  is  so  great  that  they  precipitate  themselves 
on  the  north  coast  of  Iceland  with  terrible  force. 

For  a  short  time  the  passage  between  Greenland 
and  Iceland  is  obstructed,  and  the  latter  is  then 
blocked  on  the  north-west  also,  and  sometimes  with 
such  a  depression  of  temperature  that  the  detached 
ice  is  again  frozen  into  a  solid  sheet. 

Here  Iceland  performs  its  first  important  office  in 
the  physics  and  meteorology  of  the  globe ;  it  arrests 


S6  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  destructive  mass  of  the  polar  ice,  and  allows  the 
establishment  of  the  currents  in  their  normal  direc- 
tion, receiving  and  moderating  the  intense  cold  and 
the  consequent  storms.  As  soon  as  the  obstruction 
is  complete,  the  waters  from  the  north  press  upon 
the  accumulated  ice,  while  those  from  the  south,  ar- 
rested at  the  north-west  point  of  the  island,  undermine 
and  eat  away  the  opposing  ice,  and  soon  hollow  out  a 
passage,  through  which  the  accumulated  waters  from 
the  north  rush  with  violence,  carrying  with  them  the 
ice  which  blocked  Iceland ;  thence  the  masses  are 
floated  south  by  the  currents,  tides,  and  winds,  and 
gradually  melt  in  the  warmer  water.  Those  which 
are  below  Langaness  do  not  participate  in  this  move- 
ment, and  here  the  ice  remains  for  a  longer  period. 

This  is  the  usual  course  of  the  ice,  which  begins  to 
move  in  spring,  with  successive  arrivals  till  the  end 
of  summer,  when  the  thaw  ceases,  and  it  is  seen  no 
more  until  the  next  spring ;  but  occasionally,  as  in 
1873-74,  3,  considerable  movement  occurs  in  the 
winter. 

If  we  consider  the  immense  extent  of  the  icy  mass 
thus  put  in  motion,  we  readily  understand  the  great 
climatic  changes  which  must  result.  On  the  14th 
and  15th  of  April,  1874,  occurred,  from  this  cause, 
the  most  violent  storm  remembered  on  the  island, 
extending  over  a  distance  of  more  than  one  thousand 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       8/ 

miles  from  north  to  south,  and  probably  to  within  a 
few  degrees  of  the  North  Pole. 

The  coldness  of  their  winter  depends  mainly  on 
the  formation  of  the  Greenland  ice ;  when  the  large 
masses  ar^  arrested  by  Iceland  their  summers  are 
cold,  and  those  of  northern  Europe  warm ;  when  they 
float  off  to  the  south,  the  season  is  mild  in  Iceland, 
as  the  gulf  stream  gets  farther  north,  and  the  sum- 
mer of  England  and  northern  Europe  is  cold.  The 
average  temperature  at  Reykjavik  is  about  that  of 
Moscow,  —  in  summer  ranging  from  53°  to  75°  F., 
and  in  winter,  29'' ;  average  for  the  year,  39°  :  at 
Akureyri,  in  the  north,  in  summer,  45° ;  in  winter, 
20°  ;  and  for  the  year,  32" :  but,  in  the  north,  the 
temperature  may  rise  to  75"  and  fall  to  29°  below 
zero. 

The  geographical  position  of  Iceland  is,  therefore, 
very  important,  as,  with  Jan  Meyen  and  Spitzbergen, 
it  forms  a  natural  barrier  against  the  desolation  of 
northern  Europe  by  the  ice  from  the  arctic  regions ; 
should  Iceland  disappear  beneath  the  waters,  Norway 
would  have  the  cold  of  Greenland,  the  north  of  Eng- 
land would  become  frozen,  and  Greenland  would  be 
green  again.  There  is  geological  evidence  that  Ice- 
land was  uplifted  toward  the  end  of  the  glacial  epoch 
of  northern  Europe,  and  this  would  explain  the  traces 
of  a  milder  climate,  as  indicated  by  plant  and  animal 


88  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

life,  in  Greenland,  before  the  advent  of  man.  Indeed, 
from  some  cause  not  well  determined,  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  Greenland  has  been  green,  and  that 
Iceland  possessed  forests,  even  within  the  historic 
period ;  the  complete  disappearance  of  the  Norse 
colonies  in  Greenland  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
the  repeated  allusions  in  the  Icelandic  sagas  to  a 
vegetation  now  unknown  there,  seem  to  show  that 
the  climate  has  become  more  severe  than  when  the 
Norsemen  sought  there  a  shelter  from. the  persecu- 
tions of  Harald,  the  Fair-haired,  a  contemporary  of 
king  Alfred  of  England.  It  is  almost  certain  that 
the  climate  has  undergone  a  great  change,  even  during 
the  historic  period,  caused  doubtless  by  the  accumu- 
lation of  the  polar  ice,  and  the  consequent  increase  of 
the  snowy  jokuls,  and  with  them  a  diminution  of  tem- 
perature. According  to  their  sagas,  grain  formerly 
grew  in  Iceland,  and  trees  of  considerable  size ;  their 
trunks  are  found  imbedded  in  the  morasses,  and 
houses  and  even  ships  in  comparatively  modern  times 
are  said  to  have  been  built  of  native  timber.  There 
have  probably  been  several  alternating  epochs  of 
cold  and  heat,  corresponding  to  the  varying  amount 
and  extent  of  the  ice  in  the  different  glacial  epochs 
which  modern  geology  has  indicated  in  northern 
Europe. 

The  snowy  mountains,  or  jokuls,  are  seen,  in  clear 


PHYSICAL   CH4RACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       89 

weather,  many  miles  at  sea ;  though,  compared  with 
the  Alps,  they  are  insignificant,  the  highest  being 
only  five  thousand  feet  high,  yet,  as  they  rise  almost 
from  the  level  of  the  sea,  their  masses  seem  stupen- 
dous. Their  production  depends  on  the  same  causes 
as  the  glaciers  of  the  Alps,  from  snow  and  the  con- 
densed fogs ;  the  outlines  are  generally  rounded,  the 
surface  of  the  underlying  trachytic  rock  having  been 
subjected  to  the  eroding  and  polishing  forces  of  the 
ice  during  the  glacial  period.  They  have  the  slow, 
irresistible  march  of  all  such  great  bodies  of  ice, 
gradually  invading  the  plains  and  dooming  large 
tracts  of  land  to  sterility,  removable  only  by  some 
great  geological  change.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  many  of  these  jokuls  are  slumbering  volcanoes, 
the  ever-present  heat  from  which  melts  the  lower 
strata  of  snow,  sometimes  deluging  the  valleys  and 
pasture-lands  with  immense  floods  of  water  and  frag- 
ments of  ice  ;  the  streams  which  pour  from  these 
jokuls  constitute  the  short,  furious,  and  icy  cold  rivers 
which  the  traveller  has  so  often  to  ford. 

These  jokuls  form  two  nearly  parallel  chains,  sepa- 
rated by  a  deep  valley,  in  a  direction  from  south-west 
to  north-east,  and  on  this  geological  condition  de- 
pends not  only  the  physical,  but  the  political  and 
civil  condition  of  the  country.  The  most  extensive 
and  best-known  of  these  chains  is  on  the  east,  south, 


90  AN  AMERICAN   IN  ^ICELAND. 

and  south-east  of  the  island,  not  far  from  the  coast, 
the  highest  summits  being  nearly  six  thousand  feet 
high,  and  those  in  the  south  being  the  first  seen  on 
approaching  Iceland,  even  at  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred miles  ;  the  length  of  this  range  is  more  than 
two  hundred  miles.  The  other  chain  is  more  to  the 
north-west,  and  less  well  known,  except  in  the  region 
of  Thingvalla,  whose  grand  but  frightful  scenery  will 
be  described  in  a  subsequent  chapter  ;  it  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  long,  and  of  an  average 
height  of  five  thousand  feet  ;  Mt.  Hekla  belongs  to 
neither,  being  between  them  at  their  western  extrem- 
ity, and  commanding  a  view  of  both. 

Snaefells  (probably  the  Sneffels  of  Jules  Verne  in 
his  journey  to  the  centre  of  the  earth),  an  extinct  vol- 
cano, between  the  Breida  and  Faxa  fiords,  is  covered 
with  perpetual  snow  ;  from  its  isolated  position,  though 
only  five  thousand  feet  high,  its  appearance  is  magnifi- 
cent ;  it  is  plainly  visible  from  Reykjavik,  distant  sixty 
miles.  From  its  situation  on  this  long  tongue  of  land, 
it  seems  to  spring  from  mid  ocean  ;  its  snowy  white 
mass  against  the  deep  blue  sky,  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  objects. 

All  the  region  between  these  two  fiords  is  Ice- 
land's classic  ground,  and  the  scenes  of  some  of  the 
most  cherished  sagas  of  the  country.  Almost  every 
writer  on   Iceland   has   given  one  or  two,  and  espe- 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND,       9 1 

cially  Baring  Gould  in  his  "  Myths  of  the  Middle 
Ages,"   1872,  and  Prof.  Anderson  in   1875. 

In  order  to  understand  the  peculiar  scenery  of  Ice- 
land, it  should  be  remembered  that  its  nucleus  was 
thrown  up  from  an  almost  fathomless  ocean  by  vol- 
canic power  ;  born  of  fire,  it  bid  defiance  to  the 
waves,  and  maintained  and  still  preserves  its  volcanic 
energy  in  spite  of  polar  cold  and  overwhelming  ice. 
It  is  forty  thousand  square  miles  in  extent,  in  shape 
like  a  flattened  arch,  nowhere  more  than  two  thousand 
three  hundred  feet  high  ;  chiefly  basaltic  rock  and  sili- 
cious  tufa  formed  beneath  the  sea ;  the  former  the  old- 
est and  the  foundation,  probably  uplifted  toward  the 
end  of  the  tertiary  period ;  the  latter  formed  during 
the  succeeding  or  glacial  epoch  ;  the  lavas  were  then 
poured  out,  entirely  above  the  sea,  in  and  through 
the  trachytic  tufa,  which  goes  through  the  island 
from  south-west  to  north-east,  as  before  stated, 
this  having  evidently  been  the  line  of  subterranean 
force. 

Some  of  the  most  characteristic  scenery  of  Iceland 
is  found  in  this  ocean-born  basalt,  analogous  but  infe- 
rior to  the  "  Fingal's  Cave  "  and  "  Giant's  Causeway." 
Near  Stappen,  in  the  vicinity  of  Snaeffels,  are  two 
very  singular  obelisks  of  rock  rising  from  the  sea, 
the  higher  of  which  is  two  hundred  and  forty  feet, 
and  only  thirty-five  feet  wide  at  the  base  j  these,  and 


92  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

Other  fantastic  forms  and  caverns,  have  been  fash- 
ioned by  the  waves. 

According  to  Paijkull,  a  Swedish  geologist,  who 
has  travelled  extensively  in  Iceland  within  the  last 
ten  years,  the  form  of  the  country,  as  it  now  exists, 
its  rent  and  uneven  surfaces,  are  due  to  the  action  of 
glaciers.  The  basaltic  rocks  show  numerous  marks 
of  glacial  action  ;  where  a  deep  valley  or  fiord  is  seen, 
there  was  once  a  continuous  layer  of  rock,  afterward 
carried  away  by  the  ice ;  lava,  which  once  must  have 
flowed  in  horizontal  strata  of  uniform  thickness,  now 
appears  in  hills  and  undulations,  often  overlaid  by  a 
thick  soil  ;  the  erosion  of  the  glacier  has  done  this, 
and  very  extensively. 

The  rocky  fissures,  or  fiords,  which  extend  from  the 
rocky  coast  far  into  the  interior,  are  characteristic  of 
Icelandic,  as  of  Norwegian,  scenery.  Originating  per- 
haps in  the  fissures  of  the  primary  upheaval,  extend- 
ing far  beneath  the  water,  they  have  since  been  greatly 
modified  by  the  action  of  glaciers,  the  sea,  the  rains, 
and  the  frosts  ;  they  are  very  narrow  in  proportion 
to  their  length,  and  resemble  rivers  with  high  perpen- 
dicular rocky  walls.  Bare  of  vegetation,  lifeless  ar^d 
still,  except  from  the  roar  of  the  wind,  the  torrent, 
and  the  sea,  they  are  inexpressibly  grand  and  gloomy. 
Yet  these  rocky  wastes,  so  desolate  when  viewed 
from  the  ocean,  are   the  favorite  dwelling-places  of 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       93 

the  Icelander ;  here  he  finds  an  inexhaustible  supply 
of  fish,  a  plenty  of  drift-wood  for  domestic  uses,  an 
occasional  stranded  whale,  and  a  comparatively  quiet 
harbor  ;  the  lateral  valleys,  also  the  effect  of  erosion 
by  ice,  are  apt  to  be  fertile,  communicating  with 
grassy  meadows  well-suited  for  his  cattle.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  these  fiords,  therefore,  we  find  the 
thickest-settled  portions  of  the  country.  It  was  from 
one  of  these  fiords,  the  Breida  on  the  western  coast, 
about  one  hundred  miles  north  of  the  capital,  that 
Erik  the  Red  sailed  in  984  for  the  discovery  of  Green- 
land. 

This  structure  of  the  coast,  extending  as  it  does 
far  into  the  interior,  facilitates  communication  by 
water,  but  renders  travelling  by  land  difficult  and 
often  dangerous  ;  the  steepness  of  the  ascent  and 
descent ;  the  sudden  transition  from  the  heat  of  the 
valley  to  the  snow,  rain,  and  wind  of  the  heights  ; 
the  passage  of  the  narrow  bridle-paths  along  the 
almost  perpendicular  sides  of  precipices  whose  bases 
are  washed  by  the  sea  hundreds  of  feet  below,  —  unite 
to  make  travelling  outside  of  the  capital,  without  a 
guide,  rather  a  perilous  undertaking. 

Between  the  two  snowy  chains  which  traverse  the 
country  from  south-west  to  north-east  lies  the  "des- 
ert" of  Iceland,  —  a  mythical  land,  peopled  by  the 
superstitious  Northmen  by  demons,  giants,  and  wild 


94  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

men,  whose  deeds  have  been  chronicled  in  the  sagas 
which  even  now  form  the  deHght  of  all  classes.  It 
is  a  lonely  and  desolate  region,  torn  by  earthquakes, 
overwhelmed  by  lava  streams,  —  as  far  as  known,  con- 
sisting mainly  of  large  tracts  of  volcanic  sand,  desti- 
tute of  water  and  without  vegetation  ;  it  probably 
cannot  be  exceeded  in  desolation  by  any  other  region 
of  the  earth,  and,  from  its  craters,  chasms,  and  blocks 
of  lava,  reminds  one  of  the  landscapes  figured  by  as- 
tronomers as  occurring  in  the  moon,  or  like  an  unfin- 
ished corner  of  the  universe,  where  the  chaos  of  the 
primeval  world  still  exists,  deluged  by  lavas,  mud, 
cinders,  and  water  bearing  immense  blocks  of  ice,  — 
thirty  thousand  square  miles  of  indescribable  desola- 
tion. In  fact,  it  is  a  popular  saying  that  Lucifer,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  requested  permission  to 
try  his  hand  at  creation  ;  and  that,  from  the  frag- 
ments left  by  the  antagonism  of  fire  and  water,  the 
unused  and  useless  remnants  of  the  volcano  and  the 
earthquake,  he  made  Iceland,  and  was  well  satisfied 
[with  his  work.  From  what  I  have  seen  of  it,  and 
[rom  the  observations  of  others,  I  must  say  that  "  dia- 
)olic "  or  "  devilish "  is  the  best  epithet  to  express 
the  character  of  the  scenery.  It  is  just  such  a  place 
as  Von  Weber  would  have  selected  for  the  demon 
scenes  of  his  "  Der  Freischiitz,"  or  Salvator  Rosa  for 
his  dismal  and  characteristic  paintings. 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       95 

This  desert,  an  elevated  plateau,  extending  across 
the  island,  and  about  one  hundred  miles  from  south 
to  north,  is  rarely  visited  by  travellers,  and  by  the 
natives  only  in  the  summer,  when  the  women  form 
their  tent  villages  on  its  borders,  while  they  gather 
the  .Iceland  moss.  There  must,  however,  be  fertile 
districts  in  it,  and  the  reports,  well  authenticated,  of 
herds  of  reindeer  issuing  from  it,  and  of  wild-looking 
men  having  horses  shod  with  horn,  prove  that  it  is 
not  entirely  unsuited  for  human  habitation. 

Reindeer  were  introduced  from  Norway  about  1 770 ; 
there  are  considerable  herds  in  the  unpopulated  dis- 
tricts, especially  in  the  mountain  deserts  of  the  north- 
east ;  they  feed  upon  the  moss,  and  are  pursued  with 
difficulty,  as  there  is  no  food  for  horses  in  their  haunts  ; 
they  are  hunted  for  their  flesh,  skin,  and  horns  ;  they 
are  not  domesticated,  as  the  country  is  too  rough  for 
their  use  in  sledges.  Yet  with  all  its  dreariness,  and 
cold,  and  barrenness,  and  poverty,  and  isolation,  the 
people  are  extremely  fond  of  their  country,  and  say 
that  "  Iceland  is  the  fairest  land  that  the  sun  shines 
upon."     Of  them  it  may  be  said  with  Goldsmith  :  — 

"  The  shudd'ring  tenant  of  the  frigid  zone 
Boldly  proclaims  that  happiest  spot  his  own  ; 
Extols  the  treasures  of  his  stormy  seas, 
And  his  long  nights  of  revelry  and  ease." 

Running  up  from  these  fiords  are  numerous  rivers, 


96  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

generally  short,  furious,  and  cold,  the  result  of  the 
melting  of  the  glaciers  ;  none  more  than  one  hundred 
miles  long,  they  are  not  navigable  for  any  great,  con- 
tinuous extent,  and  oppose  formidable  obstacles  to 
the  traveller  in  whatever  direction  he  may  go  ;  twenty 
to  thirty  of  these,  with  their  tributaries,  he  will  ford 
in  the  course  of  the  day,  shallow,  cold,  and  clear ; 
bridges  there  are  none,  and  very  few  boats,  so  that 
difficulty  and  danger  both  to  horse  and  rider  attend 
their  crossing,  whether  by  fording  or  swimming ;  we 
encountered  none  reaching  above  the  horse's  belly. 
From  the  broken  nature  of  the  country,  they  form 
several  fine  waterfalls,  one  of  the  prettiest  of  which  is 
made  by  the  river  Oxer  falling  over  the  precipices  of 
the  Almannagja,  in  the  crater-like  depression  at  Thing- 
valla,  where  the  principal  ceremonies  of  the  Millen- 
nial celebration  took  place.  This  fall  is  about  eighty 
feet  high,  and  visible  for  man)^  miles,  its  snowy  white- 
ness being  remarkably  contrasted  against  the  black 
lava  rocks  over  which  it  flows  ;  into  a  deep  pool,  near 
the  base  of  this  fall,  women  found  guilty  of  child- 
murder  were  in  old  times  thrown  from  the  summit  of 
the  precipice ;  it  is  a  frightful-looking  place,  causing 
an  involuntary  shudder  as  you  gaze  into  its  black 
depths ;  justice  in  those  days  was  both  stern  and 
speedy.  Another  beautiful  fall  is  the  Skogafoss,  two 
hundred  feet  high,  on  the  south  coast,  about  eighty 
miles  from  the  capital. 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  DF  ICELAND.       9/ 

The  lakes  of  Iceland,  from  the  broken  nature  of 
the  country,  are  few ;  all  are  situated  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  desolate  scenery,  and  their  sides  and  bot- 
toms are  rough  with  the  lava  blocks  from  the  sur- 
rounding volcanoes.  The  largest  is  Thingvalla  lake, 
along  which  we  journeyed  for  many  hours,  near  which 
was  formerly  held  the  meetings  of  the  Althing  during 
the  independent  age  of  the  island  ;  it  is  clear,  cold, 
very  deep,  abounding  in  fish,  and  visited  by  innumer- 
able water-fowl ;  within  a  century  it  has  been  much 
changed  by  earthquakes ;  it  is  about  twelve  miles 
long  and  five  wide,  receives  the  river  Oxera,  and,  it  is 
said,  communicates  with  the  sea.  It  is  situated  in  a 
magnificent  basin  in  the  lava  rocks,  and  the  contrast 
between  the  black  ruggedness  of  the  rim,  and  the 
clear  green  waters  of  its  expanse,  with  the  great, 
many-hued  hills  in  the  distance  casting  their  shadows, 
and  the  fleecy  clouds  mirrored  in  its  surface,  make  a 
scene  of  singular  weird-like  beauty. 

I  cannot  understand  the  statements  of  travellers, 
and  very  recent  ones  too,  that  there  is  an  entire  ab- 
sence of  color  in  Iceland  ;  it  seemed  to  me  just  the 
opposite.  The  silver  pyramids  of  the  jokuls  with 
their  glittering  mantles  of  snow,  the  blackness  of  the 
lava,  the  golden-hued  hills  in  the  sunlight,  the  purple 
shadows  of  the  precipices,  the  green  of  the  fields 
near  the  shore,  the  lividity  even  of  the  storm-clouds, 

5  G 


98   H  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  blue  of  the  distant  ocean,  and  the  still  deeper  hue 
of  the  sky,  showed  to  my  eyes  the  most  striking  and 
beautiful  contrasts  ;  we  might  have  been,  however, 
peculiarly  fortunate  in  the  weather. 

The  northern  coast  of  Iceland,  which  we  could  not 
reach  on  account  of  the  ice  on  the  north-west,  though 
a  little  colder,  is  really  the  most  desirable  part  of  the 
island  for  habitations  ;  the  soil  is  deeper,  the  vegeta- 
tion more  luxuriant  and  reaching  farther  up  the 
mountains,  which  are  freer  from  snow  than  in  the 
south  and  west.  The  fiords  are  more  accessible  and 
better  stocked  with  fish.  Husavik  is  a  considerable 
trading-town,  and  where  Gardar  landed,  and  passed  a 
winter,  in  864,  ten  years  before  the  permanent  settle- 
ment on  the  west  coast,  whose  thousandth  anniver- 
sary was  celebrated  in   1874. 

Akureyri,  on  the  north  coast,  is,  next  to  Reykjavik, 
the  most  important  town  in  the  island ;  it  has  an  ex- 
cellent harbor,  and  is  a  miniature  copy  of  the  capital. 
In  an  old  church  on  the  hill  is  a  curious  statue  carved 
out  of  wood,  of  the  size  of  life,  believed  to  represent 
St.  Olaf,  the  introducer  of  Christianity,  trampling  with 
his  right  foot  on  the  neck  of  a  prostrate  heathen. 

The  north-west  peninsula  of  Iceland,  rarely  visited 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  through  the 
ice  which  generally  besets  the  west  coast,  is  almost 
an  island,  the  neck  which  makes  it  a  peninsula  being 


PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS  OF  ICELAND.       99 

quite  narrow.  It  has  been  likened  to  a  huge  hand, 
whose  wide-spread  and  numerous  fingers  touch  the 
arctic  zone  ;  between  these  outstretched  giant  fingers 
run  up  arms  of  the  sea  through  peculiarly  gloomy 
fiords,  sometimes  forty  miles  long.  Grand  and  fear- 
ful always,  here  they  are  especially  gloomy,  enveloped 
in  fogs,  cold  and  boisterous,  openings,  with  the  help 
of  a  little  imagination,  always  excited  by  Scandina- 
vian myths,  into  unknown  and  mysterious  dangers, 
rendered  doubly  dreary  from  the  precipices  suddenly 
receding  in  the  gray  atmosphere  so  characteristic  of 
the  arctic  regions,  where  the  sky,  in  stormy  weather, 
has  been  aptly  compared  to  an  inverted  pewter  cup. 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  natural  connection  be- 
tween the  physical  characters  of  a  barbarous  country 
and  the  religious  ideas  of  its  people.  I  had  before 
noticed  the  horrible  superstitions  of  the  old  Sandwich 
Islanders,  whose  principal  goddess,  Pel6,  resided  in 
the  fiery  depths  of  Kilauea,  and  whose  vengeful  spirit 
was  exhibited  in  the  volcanic  eruptions  which  have 
so  convulsed  Hawaii,  even  to  the  present  time.  The 
attendant  and  inferior  deities  typified  the  antagonism 
between  the  ocean  and  the  volcano,  the  earthquake 
and  the  lava  stream  being  the  implements  and  the 
evidence  of  the  struggle ;  to  propitiate  these  gods, 
whom  they  saw  in  the  war  of  the  elements  around 
them,   thousands   of    human   victims   were   annually 


lOO  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

sacrificed.  In  like  manner,  amid  the  rugged  scenery 
of  Iceland,  we  should  not  expect  to  find  the  refine- 
ments of  artistic  Greece  and  luxurious  Rome  ;  the 
Norsemen,  brought  into  daily  contact  with  most 
frightful  physical  strife,  totally  unlike  the  sunny  soft- 
ness of  southern  Europe,  could  not  be  content  with 
the  effeminate  gods  of  Olympus,  but  deified  what 
to  them  was  most  necessary  ;  strength,  courage,  and 
endurance,  instead  of  beauty  and  sensuality,  'were  the 
qualities  that  gained  access  to  the  Walhalla  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Thor  and  Odin.  The  Olympian  Jupiter 
is  the  effeminate  representative  of  the  Scandinavian 
Thor,  —  both  thunderers,  kings  of  the  gods,  and  rulers 
of  the  nations,  but  as  different  as  the  rugged  north  is 
from  the  lascivious  south. 

In  the  words  of  another,  "  How  out  of  place  would 
seem  a  Jove,  with  his  beard  in  ringlets,  a  trim 
Apollo,  a,  sleek  Bacchus,  an  ambrosial  Venus,  a 
slim  Diana,  and  all  their  attendant  groups  of  oreads 
and  cupids,  amid  the  ocean  mists  and  ice-bound  tor- 
rents, the  flame-scarred  mountains,  and  four  months' 
night,  of  a  land  which  the  opposing  forces  of  heat 
and  cold  have  selected  for  a  battle-field ! " 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    VALLEY     OF     THINGVALLA. 

Thingvalla. — Travelling  in  Iceland.  —  Horses,  and  their 
Loading.  —  Rivers.  —  Lava  Roads. — Characfer  of  Country. 
—  Farm-Houses. —  Noon  Stop.  —  Lake  of  Thingvalla. — 
Chasm  of  Almannagja.  —  Manner  of  its  Formation.  —  En- 
trance TO  Valley.  —  Encampment. 

"  Where,  undissolving  from  the  first  of  time, 
Snows  swell  on  snows  amazing  to  the  sky  ; 
And  icy  mountains  high  on  mountains  piled 
Seem  to  the  wondering  traveller  from  afar 
Shapeless  and  white,  an  atmosphere  of  clouds, 
Projected  huge  and  horrid  o'er  the  land  ; 
While  at  his  feet  volcanic  blackness  reigns, 
And  rugged  lava  blocks  the  devious  way." 

nr^HE  chief  celebration  of  the  millennial  was  to  be 
in  the  valley  of  Thingvalla,  distant  about  forty 
miles  from  Reykjavik  in  an  easterly  direction.  This 
is  the  holy  ground  of  Iceland,  rendered  sacred  to 
the  people  by  the  associations  clinging  around  it  as 
the  scene  of  the  deliberations  of  their  Althing,  or 
national  council,  during  the  days  of  the  republic. 
The  word  means  the  "  plains  of  the  council "  or 
"thing,"  and  is  the  same  as  Dingwall  and  Tingwall 
in  Great  Britain  and  its  islands.     The  different  spell- 


102  /Li^  AM.E:RICA:N  in  ICELAND. 

ings  of  the  name  depend  upon  the  case  used  by  the 
writer ;  the  most  common  is  Thingvalla,  in  the  geni- 
tive case ;  Thingvellir  is  the  nominative,  and  Thing- 
vollum  the  dative  case. 

To  such  as  wish  to  travel  unimpeded  by  the  artifi- 
cial shams  of  modern  tourists,  to  enjoy  the  strange 
and  delightful  sensation  of  visiting  old  and  out-of-the- 
way  places,  and  of  getting  a  look  at  a  country  and  a 
people  almost  in  a  state  of  primitive  civilization,  I 
can  confidently  recommend  Iceland.  It  is  no  place 
for  an  invalid,  or  those  who  require  the  comforts  of 
hotels  and  palace  cars  ;  one  must  be  prepared  to 
undergo  exposure  to  cold,  rain,  hunger,  and  almost 
every  personal  discomfort  ;  there  are  no  hotels,  and 
the  hospitality  of  the  country,  though  great,  is  not 
suited  to  the  dainty  or  the  thin-skinned ;  and  now 
and  then  trifles  must  be  heavily  paid  for.  Walking 
is  impossible  except  for  short  distances  ;  the  rough- 
ness of  the  trails,  the  frequent  icy  rivers  to  be  forded, 
the  mudholes  and  the  bogs  and  the  slippery  rocks 
would  very  soon  tire  out  the  most  active  pedestrian  ; 
the  baggage  horses  will  stray  from  the  path,  and 
could  not  be  recovered,  except  at  their  own  pleas- 
ure, by  any  traveller  on  foot ;  so  that  what  comforts 
there  are  must  be  obtained  on  a  horse's  back. 

To  convey  to  my  readers  an  idea  of  the  peculiar 
scenery  of  Iceland,  to  see  which  we  had  traversed 


THE    VALLEY   OF    THINGVALLA.  103 

about  four  thousand  miles  of  ocean,  I  think  it  will 
be  best  for  them  to  mount  their  horses  with  us  and 
join  our  cavalcade,  enjoying  in  imagination  what  we 
experienced  in  reality,  and  without  our  discomforts, 
annoyances,  fatigue,  and  expenditures. 

Thanks  to  good  friends  in  the  capital,  we  were  ena- 
bled to  make  the  necessary  preparations  in  the  matter 
of  horses,  saddles,  guides,  packing  boxes,  and  tent ; 
the  latter  was  necessary,  as  the  crowds  drawn  by  the 
king,  and  his  own  retinue,  would  task  to  the  utmost 
the  resources  of  the  island  in  the  way  of  shelter.  We 
intended  to  lodge  upon  the  cold  ground,  avoiding  all 
houses  and  churches  (the  latter  used  for  travellers) 
for  entomological  and  sanitary  reasons.  We  supplied 
our  own  stores.  There  are  no  roads  for  wheeled 
vehicles  out  of  the  city,  and  no  wheeled  vehicles  in  it 
except  for  heavy  freight,  and  so  the  traveller  must  go 
on  horseback.  We  were  none  of  us  graceful  riders, 
but  had  seen  enough  of  mountain  travel  in  the  Alps 
and  California,  and  the  Pacific  Islands,  to  be  able  to 
adhere  to  a  horse  as  long  as  he  could  carry  us.  The 
horses  are  very  small,  what  we  should  call  ponies  ; 
often  weak  from  overwork  and  want  of  food.  Conse- 
quently every  person  must  take  two  horses  for  him- 
self, and  one  for  his  share  of  the  luggage,  tents, 
provisions,  &c. ;  or  three  horses  to  a  man,  one  being 
ridden  in  the  forenoon,  the  other  in  the  afternoon, 


I04  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

when  not  in  use  driven  along  with  the  rest,  and  kept 
from  straying  by  the  voices  and  whips  of  the  guides. 
The  loading  of  the  horses  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance, and  one  which,  performed  in  the  slovenly 
way  practised  in  Iceland,  gives  the  traveller  much 
anxiety,  and  often  causes  an  unnecessary  waste  of 
valuable  property.  Upon  the  frame  of  the  pack-sad- 
dle, which  resembles  a  straddling  saw-horse,  are  a 
number  of  wooden  pegs,  sometimes  iron  hooks,  to 
which  are  suspended,  or  on  which  are  hung,  fastened 
by  ropes,  wooden  iron-bound  boxes,  hanging  like  pan- 
niers on  each  side.  In  these  were  packed  our  canned 
meats  and  other  eatables,  drinkables,  utensils  for 
cooking,  &c.,  all  kept  from  being  broken  by  our 
blankets  and  small  parcels  placed  on  top.  To  fasten 
these  boxes,  and  many  loose  articles,  valises,  and  the 
like,  occupied  much  time ;  the  clumsy  way  in  which 
the  thing  was  done,  the  utter  absence  of  system  and 
even  of  common  sense,  and  the  imperturbable  cool- 
ness with  which  the  tying  and  untying  were  done 
half  a  dozen  times,  vexed  us  much,  and  the  more  that 
we  were  standing  in  a  cold  rain.  After  all  their  fuss, 
the  motion  of  the  ponies  invariably  loosened  the 
ropes  every  hour  or  two,  consuming  much  valuable 
time  in  re-tightening,  all  of  which  might  be  saved  by 
the  use  of  decent  ropes,  and  such  skill  in  tying  them 
as  any  one  could  acquire  from  a  sailor  in  half  an  hour. 


THE    VALLEY    OE    THING  VALLA.  I05 

You  might  as  well  talk  to  a  stone  post  as  try  to 
instruct  one  of  these  guides,  and  a  sloth  is  about  as 
much  in  a  hurry  as  the  average  Icelander. 

Though  we  arrived  in  advance  of  the  king,  the  best 
horses  had  been  reserved  for  him  and  his  suite  ;  and, 
though  royalty  pays  nothing  but  bows,  flattering 
words,  invitations  to  dinner,  or  a  bit  of  silver  and 
colored  ribbon,  and  we  were  ready  to  pay  the  shining 
rix-dollars,  we  had  to  take  what  was  left,  and  pay  the 
usual  price  for  it. 

Our  guide,  however,  did  the  best  he  could,  and  off 
we  started  early  Monday  morning,  in  a  drizzling  rain, 
for  Thingvalla.  We  were  seven,  with  three  guides 
and  two  servants  (cooks),  consequently  our  train  con- 
sisted of  thirty-five  horses,  ten  of  which  carried  our 
tent,  food,  cooking  utensils,  bags,  guns,  blankets,  &c., 
for  five  days.  Our  saddles  and  bridles  were  poor, 
and  the  only  things  we  had  of  good  quality  were  our 
whips,  which  are  essential  to  satisfactory  locomotion 
in  this  region  ;  our  party  comprised  some  heavy 
weights,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
have  severely  galled  our  horses'  backs ;  but  for  a 
saddle-cloth  or  blanket  is  substituted  a  thick  layer  of 
the  densely  rooted  turf  of  the  country,  which  prevents 
all  friction  of  the  saddle.  With  our  rubber  suits  and 
hats  we  did  not  present  a  very  cheerful  appearance ; 
in  fact,  to  my  eyes,  our  cortege  looked  more  like  a 
5* 


I06  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

funeral  procession  than  a  party  of  pleasure.  As  we 
filed  along  the  principal  street,  such  a  long  string  of 
horses  attracted  much  attention,  and  the  people  sa- 
luted us  respectfully  as  we  rode  along.  They  doubt- 
less thought  us  crazy,  for  coming  so  far  to  see  what 
to  them  appeared  so  common ;  they  little  dreamed 
that  some  of  that  dripping  party  were  the  everywhere- 
penetrating  correspondents  of  American  newspapers, 
and  that  others  were  collecting  materials  for  books 
and  lectures  which  should  exhibit  them  in  far-distant 
lands. 

Passing  the  governor's  house,  and  along  the  dismal 
road  leading  to  th^fete  ground  of  the  day  before,  the 
rain  began  to  lessen,  and  in  about  two  hours,  as  we 
got  away  from  the  influence  of  the  sea,  the  sun  came 
out  brightly,  with  a  temperature  of  80°,  and  clouds 
of  gnats  which  entered  our  ears,  noses,  eyes,  and 
mouths,  —  not  biting,  but  simply  a  nuisance  from 
their  numbers. 

The  country  is  intersected  by  numerous  rivers, 
shallow,  but  cold  and  clear,  which,  in  every  case  but 
one  we  easily  forded,  the  water  rarely  being  more 
than  two  feet  deep,  and  often  so  that  we  could  gallop 
right  through  them  ;  during  the  day  we  crossed  not  . 
less  than  thirty  of  these  streams,  offering  no  impedi- 
ment to  travel,  and  very  refreshing  to  our  thirsty  ani- 
mals. 


? 


THE    ['ALLEY   OF    THINGVALLA.  107 

The  first  river  we  came  to  was  the  Lax  or  Salmon 
River,  and  we  crossed  it  in  fear  and  trembling,  feel- 
ing its  coldness,  and  ignorant  of  the  depth  of  its 
rushing  waters ;  but  especially  afraid  that  our  boxes 
would  get  wet,  our  horses  swamped,  and  our  tent 
immersed  ;  had  these  things  happened,  as  the  first 
and  last,  from  insecure  packing,  might  easily  have 
occurred,  we  should  have  been  in  a  bad  plight,  and 
the  poor  horse  could  never  have  carried  our  tent  if 
made  any  heavier  by  water.  We  passed  through 
without  accident,  and  after  that  had  no  more  misgiv- 
ings, trusting  to  the  sure-footed,  tough  little  beasts 
which  bore  us  and  our  baggage  and  provisions. 

The  country  was  barren,  but  yet  in  spots  quite 
green,  affording  pasturage  to  many  sheep ;  we  could 
see  the  volcanic  ridges  in  the  distance,  and  some 
shining  snow-capped  mountains ;  the  lava  was  all 
very  old,  covered  with  moss,  its  angles  rounded  by 
long  exposure,  and  in  this  part  of  the  island  there  has 
probably  been  no  volcanic  eruption  since  its  occupa- 
tion by  the  Northmen  ;  indeed  there  is  no  tradition 
in  their  sagas  or  poetic  writings  of  any  thing  different 
from  what  is  now  seen.  The  ragged  character  of  the 
surface,  however,  the  marks  of  fusion  in  the  lava,  the 
fantastic  and  twisted  shapes  that  it  has  assumed,  show 
that  once  this  was  the  scene  of  terrific  disturbance, 
and  the  sources  of  the  molten  material  are  evident  in 


I08  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

the  surrounding  heights.  The  lava  does  not  differ 
from  that  which  I  had  seen  in  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
nor  from  that  of  Vesuvius  and  other  modern  vol- 
canoes. The  path  was  sometimes  indistinct,  and  our 
spare  horses  gave  the  guides  much  trouble  straying 
among  very  rough  boulders,  where  no  one  but  an  Ice- 
lander could  ride  ;  in  narrow  places  they  would  rush 
together,  kicking  and  biting,  to  the  great  prospective 
damage  of  the  packing-boxes  slung  on  their  sides,  but 
happily  without  any  serious  injury.  The  manner  of 
riding  is  peculiar  in  that  they  beat  an  incessant  tat- 
too on  the  horses'  flanks  with  their  heels,  alternately 
widely  separating  and  bringing  together  the  legs,  —  a 
ridiculous  motion,  said  to  have  originated  in  the  neces- 
sity of  this  performance  to  keep  their  feet  warm,  wet 
as  they  generally  are  in  their  skin  shoes  ;  we  tried  to 
imitate  it  but  without  much  success  ;  the  horses  seem 
to  expect  and  enjoy  it ;  women,  astride,  do  the  same. 

We  now  and  then  came  to  a  farm  or  byre,  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  grass  fields  and  meadows,  and 
presenting  a  cheerful,  homelike  appearance ;  the  es- 
tablishment consisting  of  several  small  houses,  each 
with  its  low  grass-covered  roof,  and  each  having  its 
special  purpose.  We  went  into  several  of  these, 
where  we  were  hospitably  received,  obtaining  a  plenty 
of  milk,  curds,  hard  bread,  butter,  dried  fish,  coffee 
(and  brandy,  if  you  want  it) ;  but  the  dampness,  close- 


THE   VALLEY   OF    THINGVALLA.  109 

ness,  darkness,  and  small  size  of  the  crowded  rooms, 
made  them  seem  very  unwholesome  abodes,  and  one 
is  not  surprised  at  the  great  mortality  among  children 
forced  to  live  in  such  an  atmosphere  and  darkness, 
and  on  such  unnutritious  food ;  the  sensation  was  of 
being  buried  alive,  on  entering  these  almost  subter- 
ranean abodes ;  an  average  tomb  is  more  spacious,  as 
convenient,  and  quite  as  cheerful  and  comfortable  as 
some  of  the  rooms  in  the  poorer  class  of  Icelandic 
houses. 

Stopping  at  noon  in  a  beautiful  valley,  in  an  amphi- 
theatre of  volcanic  hills,  and  by  the  side  of  a  clear 
stream,  we  took  our  lunch,  and  allowed  our  horses  to 
graze  ;  we  threw  the  reins  over  the  horses'  heads  on 
to  the  ground,  a  sign  to  the  Icelandic  pony  that  he 
must  not  stray ;  should  he  attempt  to  run,  the  reins 
getting  entangled  in  his  forefeet,  soon  bring  him  to 
the  earth  ;  if  the  reins  are  left  on  his  neck,  he  will 
surely  run  away,  or  stray  so  far  that  much  time  will 
be  lost  in  his  capture.  After  an  hour's  rest  we  started 
again  on  fresh  horses,  over  paths  now  smooth,  now 
rugged,  up  and  down  hill,  splashing  through  streams, 
picking  our  way  along  boggy  places,  toiling  through 
mud,  —  the  scenery  becoming  wilder  and  wilder,  and 
the  face  of  the  country  more  desolate.  The  barren 
lava  plain  stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in 
every  direction,  a  perfect  stony  sea,  with  its  rude 


no  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

billows,  dismal  in  the  extreme  from  the  hoary  old 
moss  which  covered  the  blocks,  —  gray  and  silent,  ex- 
cept from  the  hoarse  croak  of  a  large  raven,  or  the 
shrill  cry  of  the  plover.  The  road  had  been  put  in 
such  order  for  the  king,  that  we  were  able  to  trot 
where  previous  travellers  had  to  walk  for  hours.  For 
guidance  in  the  winter,  when  the  paths  along  these 
dreary  wastes  are  covered  with  snow,  pyramidal  heaps 
of  stones  are  piled  up  at  short  distances,  looking  like 
mournful  sentinels,  and  making  good  lookouts  for  the 
ravens.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  came  in  sight  of 
the  large  lake  of  Thingvalla,  —  a  magnificent  sheet  of 
very  deep  water,  at  least  fifteen  miles  long  and  six 
wide,  filled  with  fish  never  caught,  and  frequented 
by  ducks  never  shot.  We  knew  by  this  that  we  were 
approaching  the  valley  of  Thingvalla,  into  which  we 
must  descend  by  the  great  fissure  of  the  Almannagja, 
the  grandest  and  most  awful  scenery  in  Iceland,  and 
probably  unsurpassed  in  beauty,  which  may  be  called 
diabolic,  anywhere  on  the  globe. 

By  this  time  we  were  pretty  well  tired,  not  being 
accustomed  to  such  long  and  hard  rides.  Chilled  at 
the  start,  stewed  under  our  Mackintoshes  when  the 
sun  came  out,  with  feet  wet  from  the  splashes  of  the 
icy-cold  streams,  hungry  and  thirsty,  we  were  very 
glad  to  know  that  the  end  of  our  day's  work  was  nigh. 
The  scenery  had  been  depressing ;  desolation,  black- 


THE    VALLEY   OF    THING  VALLA.  Ill 

ness,  stillness  and  lifelessness  seemed  to  carry  one 
back  in  geological  time,  and  to  show  him  the  dismal 
chaos  before  life  was  introduced  on  our  planet :  every- 
thing was  uncouth  and  primeval. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  this  journey  is  the 
suddenness  with  which  the  weary  traveller  comes 
upon  the  deep  chasm  which  admits  to  the  valley  of 
Thingvalla ;  without  warning  he  stands  upon  the 
brink,  and  sees  the  great  plain  stretching  beneath 
his  feet,  one  hundred  feet  below,  green  and  pleasant, 
with  a  river  winding  through  it,  on  its  way  to  join 
the  lake  above  mentioned. 

The  black  precipice  on  which  we  stood  was  the 
famous  "  Almannagja,"  "  the  Chasm  of  All  Men,"  the 
western  wall  of  the  valley,  the  corresponding  eastern 
wall,  some  ten  miles  distant,  being  called  the  "  Hraf- 
nagja,"  the  "  Chasm  of  the  Ravens."  This  verdant 
plain,  once  the  place  of  assembly  of  the  "  Thing,"  or 
"  National  Council,"  but,  for  three-fourths  of  a  century, 
almost  deserted,  was  now  dotted  with  white  tents  and 
flags,  and  with  crowds  of  men  and  horses,  indicating 
the  expected  approach  of  the  royal  party,  who  were 
some  hours  behind  us.  It  was  a  very  lively  and 
unexpected  scene,  though  somewhat  marred  by  a 
commencing  drizzle,  which  added  another  discomfort 
to  our  cold  and  weary  bodies.  We  descended  by  a 
narrow  pathway,  a  natural  shelf  on  the  side  of  the 


112  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND.- 

shattered  cliff,  so  steep  that  most  of  the  party  dis- 
mounted, to  prevent  being  thrown  by  the  sHpping  of 
their  saddles  on  to  the  necks  of  the  horses.  Dashing 
through  the  shallow  river,  and  up  a  muddy  hill  and 
narrow  lane,  we  arrived  at  the  forlorn-looking  parson- 
age and  church,  by  the  side  of  which  —  permission 
having  been  asked  and  granted  in  Latin  —  we  pitched 
our  tent,  after  the  usual  vexatious  delays  attending 
the  unloading  of  the  ponies.  As  a  school  for  patience, 
I  would  recommend  to  the  impetuous,  hurrying  Yan- 
kee, a  few  weeks  of  travel  in  Iceland :  the  Icelander 
is  rarely  in  a  hurry,  and  never  prompt ;  it  seems  as  if 
they  had  adopted  the  Spanish  proverb,  "  Never  do  to- 
day what  you  can  put  off  till  to-morrow." 

All  the  available  surrounding  green  was  covered 
with  the  king's  tents,  and  liveried  servants  were  hur- 
rying about,  getting  things  ready  for  his  arrival.  We 
were  entirely  independent,  having  our  own  servants 
and  guides,  and  every  thing  necessary  for  our  comfort 
and  food.  Our  tent  was  pitched  near  a  pool  of  icy 
cold  water,  coming  by  mysterious  underground  pas- 
sages from  the  distant  jokuls  ;  the  cleft  of  a  neigh- 
boring rock  served  admirably  for  a  fireplace ;  and  the 
neighboring  parsonage  fire  was  permitted,  for  the  first 
night  of  our  Icelandic  picnic,  to  warm  the  water  for 
our  tea  and  coffee. 

We  slept  well  upon  the  ground,  from  the  damp  of 


Al  IM  \\\Ai    I  \. 


THE   VALLEY   OF    THING  VALLA.  II3 

which  we  had  ample  protection,  being  very  tired,  and 
the  next  day  started,  in  advance  of  the  royal  party, 
for  the  Geysers.  As  the  principal  celebration  was  to 
be  at  Thingvalla  in  three  days,  I  think  it  will  give  a 
better  idea  of  the  country,  and  a  more  continuous 
narrative  of  the  millennial,  to  say  what  I  propose  of 
Thingvalla  now,  reserving  the  phenomena  of  the  gey- 
sers for  another  chapter. 

The  chasm  of  the  Almannagja  is  about  a  mile 
long,  its  highest  point  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
valley ;  the  Ravens'  Chasm,  on  the  east,  is  less  high. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  whole  expanse,  some 
ten  by  five  miles,  was  once,  at  a  very  remote  period,  a 
mass  of  lava  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  these  chasms, 
the  product  of  the  streams  from  the.  Skaldbreid  or 
Broad  Shield  volcano,  in  full  view  to  the  north. 
There  are  various  opinions  of  the  way  in  which  this 
valley  was  formed.  One  is,  that  this  great  plateau 
of  fiery  lava,  fifty  square  miles  in  extent,  sunk  either 
from  contraction  and  depression  at  the  time  of  com- 
mencing solidity,  or  from  long  subsequent  falling  in 
of  the  hardened  crust  to  fill  up  the  abyss  resulting 
from  an  earthquake  or  other  volcanic  disturbance. 
Another,  and  perhaps  a  more  probable  one,  is,  that  a 
more  recent  stream  of  lava  from  the  "  Broad  Shield  " 
mountain  flowed  over  the  old  one,  and  that  its  weight, 
with  its  accompanying  heat,-  broke  in  and  fissured  the 


114  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

cellular  cavernous  layer  beneath,  from  whose  interior 
had  flowed  the  great  mass  of  the  old  lava  into  the 
lake,  leaving  a  comparatively  thin  crust  above.  I 
have  seen  hundreds  of  similar,  though  much  smaller, 
depressions,  formed,  evidently,  in  some  such  way  in 
the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Be  the  cause  what  it  may,  this  valley  existed  in 
pre-historic  times,  as  it  is  described,  very  much  as  now 
seen,  in  the  oldest  sagas  ;  time  and  nature  have  in  a 
measure  covered  its  ugliness  by  a  scanty  vegetation. 
As  one  contemplates  this  lava  sea,  which  has  flowed 
from  the  ice-clad  jokul  of  the  Broad  Shield,  which 
stands  in  silent  and  snowy  majesty  against  the  northern 
horizon,  the  words  of  Forbes  in  regard  to  it  are  forci- 
bly brought  to  mind.  He  says:  "This  jokul  looks 
like  some  white-washed  sinner,  externally  of  spotless 
purity  and  symmetry,  but  at  the  same  time  the  per- 
petrator of  this  matchless  natural  deformity,  and 
capable  of  repeating  it ;  for  in  bygone  ages  its  un- 
controllable energies  cleft  a  passage  for  the  molten 
stream  through  the  loftier  ranges  in  its  vicinity ;  and 
subsequently,  diverging,  fan-like,  formed  the  blistered 
field  we  are  now  traversing." 

The  great  western  precipice  of  lava  extending  for 
miles  toward  this  jokul,  has  parallel  to  it  for  a  short 
distance  a  gigantic  wall,  once  evidently  a  part  of  the 
precipice,  but  from  which  it  has  been  separated  by 


THE    VALLEY   OF    THINGVALLA.  II5 

some  convulsion  ;  and  it  is  by  a  part  of  this  chasm, 
about  forty  feet  wide,  made  into  a  kind  of  road  by 
hands  long  since  turned  to  dust,  that  you  descend 
to  Thingvalla  ;  it  is  over  this  precipice,  tooy  that  the 
Oxer  River  falls,  meandering  through  the  valley  to 
the  lake. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA. 

Fissured  Lava.  —  The  Logberg,  or  Mount  of  Laws.  —  Meet- 
ings OF  THE  Althing.  —  Introduction  of  Christianity. — 
The  Valley  in  Gala  Dress.  —  Reception  of  the  King,  and 
Address  of  Welcome.  —  Speeches  at  the  Mount.  —  King 
AND  People.  —  Breakfast  to  the  King.  —  Poetic  Greeting. 
—  Dinner  Speeches.  —  Departure  of  the  King.  —  Dismal 
Night  and  Stormy  Day.  —  Return  Journey.  —  Different 
Experiences  of  Travellers,  and  Consequent  Estimates 
OF  the  Country.  —  Republics  of  Iceland  and  America 
Compared. 

"  Iceland  shone,  with  glorious  lore  renowned, 
A  northern  light,  when  all  was  gloom  around." 

"  Here,  as  in  thousand  years  of  old, 
Sound  the  same  words,  —  a  voice  unended, — 
As  when  their  life  and  law  defended 
The  spearmen,  with  their  shields  of  gold  j 
The  same  land  yet  the  same  speech  giveth, 
The  ancient  soul  of  Freedom  liveth, 
And  hither,  king.,  we  welcome  thee." 

'TPHE  same  force  which  produced  Thingvalla  has 
fissured  its  bottom  in  all  directions,  rendering 
it  a  fit  scene  for  the  important  events  in  the  history 
of  Iceland  that  have  here  taken  place,  and  also  the 
appropriate  spot  for  the  millennial  celebration.  The 
most  remarkable  and  historic  of  these  lava  islands 


THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA,       11/ 

is  the  Logberg,  or  the  Mount  of  Laws,  on  which  the 
causes  of  the  people  were  tried,  judgment  passed,  and 
sentence  executed.  This  is  a  detached  wall  or  island 
of  lava,  irregularly  oval  in  shape,  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long,  and  not  more  than  fifty  wide, 
coming  down  to  a  point  so  narrow  that  it  was  deemed 
that  one  stout  jarl  could  defend  it  against  all  comers 
armed  only  with  swords  and  spears ;  this  is  bounded 
on  all  sides,  except  this  point,  by  great  fissures  with 
overhanging  walls,  at  least  fifty  feet  deep,  where  then 
as  now  may  be  seen  a  dark  green,  clear  water,  cold  as 
ice,  which  comes  from  the  distant  jokuls  by  subter- 
ranean channels,  and  in  a  similar  untraceable  way 
flows  into  the  lake  to  the  south.  This  natural,  almost 
inaccessible,  fortress,  in  the  middle  of  this  dangerous 
and  cracked  old  lava  stream,  was  chosen  for  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Althing,  or  Congress  of  the  Nation,  during 
the  palmy  days  of  the  young  and  flourishing  Iceland 
republic,  —  during  the  four  centuries  of  its  inde- 
pendence and  remarkable  intellectual  vigor.  When 
the  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  people 
was  drawn  up  in  934  by  Ulfljot,  Thingvalla  was 
selected  as  the  place  of  meeting  of  the  council  for 
the  following  reasons :  it  was  at  the  point  of  junction 
of  the  roads  crossing  the  deserts  of  the  interior;  it 
was  well  provided  with  wood,  forage,  and  water;  it 
had  been  confiscated  to  public  use,  its  owner  having 


Il8  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

been  a  murderer ;  and  it  was  easy  of  defence  against 
ambitious  and  powerful  chiefs.  The  majesty  and 
sternness  of  justice  had  a  fit  resting-place  amid  its 
awful  surroundings. 

About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  (1261), 
from  the  intrigues  of  their  own  chiefs  and  internal 
dissensions,  the  island  became  an  appendage  to  Nor- 
way; from  that  date,  with  the  loss  of  independence 
and  the  stimulus  of  self-government,  indifference  came 
over  the  people,  inactivity  and  mental  decay ;  when 
the  three  Scandinavian  nations  (Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Denmark)  were  united,  at  the  union  of  Cal- 
mar  (1397),  Iceland  was  without  resistance  trans- 
ferred to  the  crown  of  Denmark,  to  which  it  now 
belongs. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  Iceland  was  settled 
by  high  and  noble  Norwegians,  and  not  by  the  dregs 
of  the  people  ;  they  carried  there  the  germs  of  liberty 
and  refinement,  and  their  seclusion  probably  stimu- 
lated their  mental  powers,  and  made  them  the  re- 
markably literary  people  they  were,  at  an  age  when 
the  rest  of  Europe  was  shrouded  in  intellectual  dark- 
ness and  oppressed  by  feudal  despotism  ;  there,  in 
truth,  the  pen  was  mightier  than  the  sword,  and  their 
temporal  and  spiritual  tyrants  came  to  dread  the  lam- 
poons of  Icelandic  scholars  more  than  the  armies  of 
their  chiefs. 


THE   CELEBRATIOX  AT   THING  VALLA.       II9 

The  Althing  met  here,  in  the  open  air,  in  the  last 
half  of  June,  in  republican  and  colonial  times,  until 
1690,  when  a  house  was  built  for  it,  now  destroyed ; 
in  i8(X),  the  place  of  meeting — though  the  Althing 
was  shorn  of  most  of  its  importance,  and  all  of  its 
independence  —  was  transferred  to  Reykjavik. 

Crowds  came  from  all  parts  of  the  island,  and  the 
powerful  chiefs  with  a  large  retinue,  making  it  also 
an  annual  fair.  The  president  was  in  the  centre  of 
the  mount  of  laws,  with  the  judges  around  him,  seated 
on  banks  of  earth  ;  their  old  laws  were  recited,  and 
new  ones  made  known.  The  people  crowded  as  near 
as  the  terrible  chasms  surrounding  would  permit,  and 
to  them  the  condemned  could  appeal  ;  if  their  ranks 
opened  for  escape  the  victim  was  saved,  otherwise  his 
or  her  doom  was  sealed.  Murderers  were  beheaded, 
witches  burned  by  the  river's  side,  and  mothers  who 
had  killed  their  children  were  put  in  sacks  and 
drowned  in  the  pool  at  the  base  of  the  fall. 

As  the  political  and  literary  history  of  Iceland  will 
be  alluded  to  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  we  will  now 
give  a  description  of  the  millennial  festivfties  which 
took  place  while  we  were  in  this  valley.  Shorn  of  its 
ancient  glory,  though  then  filled  with  the  tents  of  the 
stranger  and  with  the  crowds  of  a  slumbering  people, 
one  could  not  fail  to  call  to  mind  the  heroic  deeds  of 
the  past,  and  contrast  them,  across  the  apathy  of  cen- 


I20  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

turies,  with  the  ignoble  present.  The  silent  desert  was 
a  fit  emblem  of  this  people ;  a  renewal  of  volcanic 
energy  could  alone  change  the  one,  and  the  rekind- 
ling of  the  spark  of  independence  animate  the  other, 
—  fortunately,  now,  there  is  a  glimmer  of  the  latter ! 

The  only  reminiscence  of  the  past  which  I  will 
here  mention  is  one  suggested  by  the  volcanic 
phenomena  everywhere  thrusting  themselves  into 
notice.  Here  occurred  that  most  dramatic  appeal 
to  common  sense  which  resulted  in  the  overthrow 
of  paganism  and  the  establishment  of  Christianity. 
In  the  year  looo  the  Althing  met  in  Thingvalla  to 
discuss  the  merits  of  a  new  religion,  which  Olaf,  the 
first  Christian  king  of  Norway,  had  determined  to 
introduce  into  Iceland.  The  disciples  of  Odin  and 
the  advocates  of  Christianity  were  in  the  height  of 
the  angry  discussion  which  theologic  zeal  always 
excites,  when  suddenly  a  subterranean  peal  of  thun- 
der reverberated  around  the  multitude.  "  Hark  !  " 
cried  the  orator  of  the  heathen  party,  "hear  how 
angry  is  Odin  that  we  should  even  consider  the  sub- 
ject of  a  new  religion  ;  his  fires  will  consume  us,  and 
justly."  This  had  a  great  effect  on  the  pagan  side, 
and  the  chances  for  the  adoption  of  Christianity  had 
become  very  small,  when  a  sharp-witted  chieftain  of 
the  opposite  belief,  changed  the  current  of  opinion 
by  asking  the  question,  "  With  whom,  then,  were  the 


THE  CELEB R A  TION  A  T  THING  VALLA.       1 2 1 

gods  angry,  when  the  plain  upon  which  we  stand  was 
melted  ? "  This  was  such  a  convincing  argument, 
that,  on  the  following  day,  Christianity  was  adopted 
by  the  Althing  as  the  religion  of  the  people,  without 
any  serious  opposition. 

After  an  interval  of  three  days  spent  at  the  Gey- 
sers, we  came  back  to  Thingvalla,  and  found  this 
valley,  with  its  beautiful  fall,  shining  river,  and  green 
meadows,  transformed  into  a  gala  scene  for  the  festi- 
val of  the  morrow.  Almost  every  available  space 
was  crowded  with  tents,  large  and  small ;  flags  of 
Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  Germany,  France,  Eng- 
land, and  America  were  flying  around  the  great  pavil- 
ion ;  while  the  flag  of  free  Iceland  —  a  white  falcon 
on  a  blue  ground,  the  banner  of  the  Vikings  — 
floated  from  the  Mount  of  Laws.  Crowds  of  people 
were  moving  to  and  fro,  and  the  many  camp-fires, 
streamers,  and  songs  indicated  an  important  occasion. 
Not  to  obstruct  the  march  of  royalty  by  our  repub- 
lican eagerness,  we  drew  our  caravan  to  one  side,  and 
allowed  the  king's  train  to  pass  us,  near  the  valley,  — 
a  convenience  which  was  gracefully  acknowledged  by 
the  royal  party  as  they  passed.  We  followed  at  a 
respectful  distance,  so  as  not  to  get  entangled  with 
the  great  number  of  horses.  A  body  of  farmers  came 
about  a  mile  to  meet  the  king,  and  conduct  him  to 
the  entrance  of  the  ground.  Here  an  address  of  wcl- 
6 


122  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

come  was  made,  the  cheers  and  clappings  from  which, 
though  doubtless  pleasing  to  his  majesty,  were  not 
well  received  by  the  ponies  ;  such  sights  and  sounds 
were  new  to  them ;  such  doings  they  had  never  ex- 
perienced before.  They  accordingly  commenced  a 
series  of  jumpings  and  rearings,  which  unhorsed  the 
governor,  and  caused  many  other  laughable  accidents, 
which  must  have  seriously  interfered  with  the  gravity 
becoming  such  a  solemn  occasion.  A  band  of  young 
girls  scattered  the  flowers  of  Iceland  in  the  king's 
path,  and  the  choir,  who  had  taken  position  among 
the  lava  rocks,  sung  one  of  their  beautiful  national 
chants. 

We  re-camped  in  the  old  place,  in  a  drizzling  rain, 
which  did  not  promise  well  for  the  morrow ;  well  fed, 
and  well  protected  from  cold  and  wet,  we  passed  the 
night  in  refreshing  sleep,  and  awoke  to  find  a  chilling 
wind  and  thick  mist,  which  soon  became  a  fine  rain. 
It  was  a  most  dismal  day  for  the  principal  festivity  of 
Iceland's  millennial.  Forming  a  procession  in  our 
water-proof  clothing,  we  looked,  I  fancy,  like  a  lot 
of  Druids,  going  to  some  sacrificial  ceremony.  At 
the  mound  of  the  flags  was  delivered  the  formal 
address  to  the  king  from  the  people  of  Iceland ; 
while  full  of  true  loyalty,  it  did  not  attempt  to  con- 
ceal the  independent  spirit  of  the  nation,  or  their 
ardent  desire  for  self-government,  —  both  of  which 


RE(  EPTION    f>K     THK     K(\<;     AT     'i'n  I  Ni  iV  A  r.t.  \ .     Acr,.    fi.     1S74. 


THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA.       1 23 

had  not  been  sufficiently  considered  in  the  new  Con- 
stitution, presented  by  the  king  as  the  main  offering 
of  Denmark  to  Iceland  in  1874.  As  showing  the 
spirit  which  the  people  manifested,  the  following  reso- 
lution by  one  of  the  deputies  present  may  be  intro- 
duced :  — 

"  Whatever  you  do  you  must  not  flatter  or  speak  falsely 
before  our  king.  This  people  has  done  so  much  already 
to  assert  their  right  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  liberty,  that  it 
would  ill  become  us  were  we  so  little-hearted  before  our 
sovereign  as  not  to  have  the  honesty  to  tell  him  of  our  sin- 
cere love  to  himself,  and  of  our  determination  to  make  the 
constitution,  which  is  now  demonstrably  a  very  imperfect 
instrument,  one  by  which  that  gift  which  his  majesty  has 
given  to  us  can  be  made  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  boon. 
His  majesty  shall  have  from  us  only  that  which  we  desire 
from  him,  —  love  from  our  hearts  and  truth  from  our  lips ; 
such,  it  seems  to  me,  the  people  of  Iceland  should  always 
show  to  the  world.  It  was  the  wont  of  our  forefathers ; 
the  custom  is  not  yet  so  antiquated  as  to  deserve  to  be 
given  up.  I  am  much  mistaken  in  the  king  if  he  desires 
from  us  fine  phrases  rather  than  the  plain  language  which 
conveys  to  him  the  straightforward  mind  of  his  faithful 
subjects." 

The  address  began  by  bidding  his  majesty  welcome 
to  the  country,  and  by  expressing  the  hope  that  his 
visit  might  be  one  which  coming  generations  would 
cherish.     While  the  people  of  Iceland  must  regret, 


124  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  address  went  on,  that  his  eye  should  rest  every- 
where upon  the  results  of  the  government  of  past 
ages,  —  poverty  and  misery,  —  it  was  a  matter  of  con- 
gratulation for  ruler  and  ruled  that  there  lingered 
still,  despite  long  troubles  and  severe  trials,  in  the 
heart  of  the  nation  the  old  manhood  and  endurance. 
The  Icelandic  nation  had  never  been  so  determined 
as  now,  when  the  rays  of  the  general  civilization  of 
the  world  had  begun  to  dawn  upon  the  people  by 
their  more  free  and  frequent  intercourse  with  other 
countries,  to  assert  its  right  to  an  Icelandic  national 
existence,  the  ideal  purpose  of  which  should  be  the 
steady  development  of  the  people  in  every  direction, 
intellectual  and  material.  The  constitution  contained 
good  seed  for  such  a  harvest,  although  it  would  re- 
quire alterations  in  various  points.  A  fervent  prayer 
for  the  welfare  of  his  majesty  and  the  royal  house 
wound  up  the  address.  Having  listened  to  it  when 
read  to  him  in  Icelandic,  the  king  answered  in  digni- 
fied tones  that  he  gladly  accepted  the  loyal  assurances 
of  the  people,  and  that  he  entertained  the  hope  of 
the  constitution  being  found,  when  put  to  its  .prac- 
tical test,  to  operate  beneficially  for  the  good  of  the 
people. 

At  the  mound  were  also  presented  congratulations 
from  scientific  and  artistic  associations  of  Norway, 
Sweden,  and  Denmark ;  and,  also,  what  probably  was 


THE  CELEBRATION  AT   THINGVALLA.       1 25 

more  pleasing  to  the  people,  the  poetic  greeting  of 
America  to  Iceland,  written  by  -Bayard  Taylor,  and 
translated  into  the  native  language  by  their  first 
poet  ;  here  let  me  say,  that,  while  Icelandic  history 
is  almost  unknown  to  us  as  a  nation,  the  early  events 
of  American  discovery  are  known  to  every  farmer  in 
Iceland. 

The  king  then  mingled  with  the  people,  in  a  very 
friendly,  yet  dignified  way  ;  but  must  have  been  dis- 
appointed, and  perhaps  wounded,  by  the  sturdy,  demo- 
cratic, independent  spirit,  degenerating  sometimes 
into  stolid  disrespect,  with  which  he  was.  met  in 
public.  After  this  followed  a  breakfast  to  the  king, 
in  the  pavilion,  given  by  the  people,  to  which  the 
American  party,  with  the  other  foreigners,  were  in- 
vited. This  was  truly  a  national  feast,  contrasting 
strongly  with  the  one  at  the  capital  to  which  we 
were  invited,  and  where  the  eatables,  drinkables,  and 
even  the  dishes  had  been  mostly  brought  from  Copen- 
hagen. But  here,  salmon  and  codfish,  mutton  and 
native  bread,  formed  the  substantial  portion  of  the 
feast,  the  side  dishes,  and  the  wines,  of  course,  being 
of  foreign  origin. 

At  the  door  of  the  large  pavilion  was  stationed  a 
chorus,  who  sang  the  following  stanzas  (Mr.  Taylor's 
translation  being  given  here)  in  the  admirable  way 
peculiar  to   the   Icelanders,  to   the  old   Danish  air, 


126  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

"  King  Christian  lays  aside  his  sword,"  —  as  printed 
in  the  "  New  York  Tribune  : "  — 

THE   KING'S   WELCOME   TO   THINGVALLA. 

"  With  strong  foot  tread  the  holy  ground, 
Our  Snow-land's  king,  the  lofty-hearted, 
Who  from  thy  royal  home  hast  parted, 
To  greet  these  hills  that  guard  us  round  ! 
Our  Freedom's  scroll  thy  hand  hath  lent  us, 
The  first  of  kings  whom  God  has  sent  us. 
Hail !  welcome  to  our  country's  heart ! 

Land's-father,  here  the  Law-Mount  view  ! 
Behold  God's  works  in  all  their  vastness  ! 
•     Where  saw'st  thou  Freedom's  fairer  fastness. 
With  fire-heaved  ramparts,  waters  blue  ? 
Here  sprang  the  sagas  of  our  splendor ; 
Here  every  Iceland  heart  is  tender ; 
God  built  this  altar  for  his  flock  ! 

Here,  as  in  thousand  years  of  old, 

Sound  the  same  words, — a  voice  unended, — 

As  when  their  life  and  law  defended 

The  spearmen,  with  their  shields  of  gold ; 

The  same  land  yet  the  same  speech  giveth, 

The  ancient  soul  of  Freedom  liveth. 

And  hither,  king,  we  welcome  thee  ! 

But  now  are  past  a  thousand  years. 
As  in  the  people's  memory  hoarded  ; 
And  in  God's  volume  stand  recorded 
Their  strifes  and  trials,  woes  and  fears. 
Now  let  the  hope  of  better  ages 
Be  what  thy  presence,  king,  presages ; 
Now  let  the  prosperous  time  be  sure  1 


^THE   CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA.      12J 

Our  land  to  thee  her  thanks  shall  yield, 
A  thousand  years  thy  name  be  chanted ; 
Here,  where  the  Hill  of  Law  is  planted, 
'Twixt  fiery  fount  and  lava  field, 
We  pray.  All- Father,  our  dependence. 
To  bless  thee  and  thy  far  descendants. 
And  those  they  rule,  a  thousand  years  !  " 

MA'rrHIAS  JOCHUMSSON. 

Our  comrade,  Erik  Magnusson,  a  native  Icelander, 
was  the  leading  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  from  his 
report  to  the  "  London  Times,"  the  following  account 
of  the  breakfast,  which  was  in  reality  a  dinner,  is 
taken :  — 

"  The  king  and  his  suite,  the  representatives  from  for- 
eign bodies,  and  the  committee  of  management,  had  seats 
in  the  central  tent.  In  the  two  adjoining,  between  which 
there  was  no  division,  so  that  all  three  formed  one  saloon, 
sat  the  rest  of  the  guests  and  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  together  with  other  men  of  mark. 

"The  first  toast  was  that  of  the  health  of  *The  King,' 
proposed  in  Danish,  which  was  vigorously  cheered  by  all 
present.  Upon  this  the  king  proposed  the  toast  of  *  Ice- 
land '  in  his  earnest  and  happy  manner.  Next  came  the 
toast  of  '  The  Queen,*  which  was  loudly  applauded  ;  and 
last  proposed  was  '  The  Dynasty,'  and  in  his  speech  the 
proposer  expressed  a  wish  that  at  the  next  thousandth 
anniversary  it  might  be  the  good  fortune  of  this  people  to 
have  in  its  midst  so  beloved  a  sovereign  as  King  Christian 
IX.,  and  that  he  might  trace  the  line  of  his  descent  to  him 
on  whom  so  many  blessings  were  prayed  for  by  Iceland 


128  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

now,  and  to  whom  many  mighty  ones  of  the  world  would 
have  to  look  as  a  blessed  ancestor.  This  toast  was  deliv- 
ered in  Icelandic,  but  the  winding-up  sentence  of  it  was 
translated  to  his  majesty  by  his  interpreter.  The  king 
answered  gracefully,  expressing  his  high  satisfaction  with 
the  sentiments  expressed,  and  gave  his  royal  word  then 
and  there  that  his  son,  the  Crown  Prince,  and  his  grand- 
children in  Denmark  should  learn  the  noble  tongue  spoken 
by  the  Icelanders,  which  he  sincerely  regretted  not  to  be 
able  to  speak  himself.  At  this  immense  cheers  greeted 
him. 

"  The  hour  of  the  king's  departure  now  drew  on  rapidly. 
As  he  rode  away  up  through  the  rift,  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  assembled  crowds  of  Thingvalla  ranged  themselves  on 
both  sides  of  the  road,  in  order  to  give  one  more  farewell 
cheer,  whereupon  he  dismounted  and  walked  through  the 
people,  shaking  hands  with  many  and  bowing  to  all.  On 
ascending  the  pass  which  leads  out  of  the  rift  the  whole  of 
the  people  burst  out  into  their  last  farewell  cheer,  which 
lasted  until  he  was  out  of  sight.  It  may  be  said  with 
truth  that  Iceland  never  saw  a  more  welcome  guest ; 
his  dignified  bearing,  his  ready  affability,  and  wonderfully 
winning  manners  and  unassuming  simplicity,  are  qualities 
which  have  won  for  him  the  whole  heart  of  the  people.  I 
heard  in  many  places  bitter  complaints  among  the  Ice- 
landers themselves  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  give  a 
grander  reception  than  was  actually  the  case.  But  al- 
though this  no  doubt  stung  many  a  proud-hearted  man 
to  the  quick,  yet  I  think  he  left  the  country  with  a  firm 
conviction  that  to  wish  for  a  more  loyal  and  devoted 
people  than  the  Icelanders  would  be  to  wish  for  an  impos- 
sibility." 


THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THING  VALLA.      1 29 

And  thus  appropriately  ended  the  ceremony  at 
Thingvalla. 

The  rain  at  noon  was  falling  fast,  but  the  king's 
party  mounted  their  horses,  and  started  back  to  the 
capital,  where  they  arrived,  cold  and  wet,  at  about 
8  P.M.  The  choir  had  gone  in  advance  to  the  Alman- 
nagja,  and  sang  a  parting  song,  which  reverberated 
grandly  amid  those  precipices,  so  long  unused  to 
human  rejoicings,  and  so  soon  to  be  again  silent 
and  desolate.  After  this,  out-door  celebration  was 
impossible,  and  many  songs  and  speeches  intended 
for  the  public  were  confined  to  the  small  audiences 
within  the  respective  tents.  It  was  difficult  for  a 
sedate  and  silent  people  to  be  jolly  under  such  de- 
pressing circumstances,  and  by  degrees  the  tents 
became  quiet,  and  all  retired  to  rest,  cold  and  damp, 
to  wake  to  a  morning  still  mofe  wet  and  dismal. 
We  started  back  at  four  in  the  morning,  ploughing 
our  way  through  the  tenacious  mud  of  the  newly 
made  roads,  splashing  through  the  puddles  and 
streams,  with  an  occasional  miring  in  the  bogs  near 
the  track  ;  we  \yere  wet  through  by  the  driving  rain, 
chilled,  and  covered  with  mud,  and  the  horses  very 
much  fatigued  by  the  difficulty  of  the  road ;  it  would 
be  impossible  to  describe  the  cheerless  return  jour- 
ney, and  its  utter  gloom  and  desolation.  As  we 
approached  the  sea,  the  sun  came  out,  and  the  signs 

6*  I 


130  AN   AMERICAN   IN   ICELAND. 

of  civilization  and  human  occupation  were  very  wel- 
come ;  in  the  bay  we  could  see  our  tiny  steamer,  on 
board  of  which  we  were  all  safely  placed  about  noon, 
and  the  next  day  we  left  for  Scotland.  We  experi- 
enced, therefore,  on  our  last  day,  the  usual  fate  of 
Icelandic  travellers,  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain.  A 
steel-colored  mist  almost  hid  from  view  the  black 
mountains  and  the  leaden  sky,  and  the  wind  was  so 
furious  as  it  swept  rain-laden,  over  the  barren  wastes, 
that  not  a  living  being  except  our  party  was  seen  or 
heard;  now  and  then  we  could  not  see  half  a  mile 
before  us,  and  often  not  each  other,  and  were  obliged 
to  trust  to  the  instinct  of  the  horses  to  keep  the  path, 
which,  however,  could  almost  always  be  traced  by  its 
muddy  outline.  It  did  not  seem  like  earth  scenery, 
but  like  the  mysterious  plains  of  the  moon,  barring 
the  water,  which  is  said  not  to  be  found  on  that 
extinguished  star-satellite ! 

By  this  sudden  change,  I  could  readily  explain  the 
contradictory  statements  of  travellers  in  regard  to 
Iceland  ;  the  one  who  visits  this  singular  scenery, 
bright  in  the  warm  sun,  and  in  an  ^ir  so  clear  that 
the  snowy  mountains  many  leagues  away  can  be  dis- 
tinctly seen,  will  write  a  very  different  description 
from  the  one  who  traverses  the  same  ground,  wet  to 
the  skin,  cold  and  hungry,  with  no  prospect  beyond 
the  turn  in  the  dismal  road ;  the  latter  will  be  likely 


THE  CELEBRATION  AT  THINGVALLA.      l^X 

to  pronounce  Iceland  a  humbug,  and  wish  he  had 
stayed  at  home ;  while  the  former,  as  I  do,  will  regard 
it  as  one  of  the  most  glorious  countries  of  the  world, 
be  sorry  when  he  is  obliged  to  leave  it,  and  take 
speedy  steps  to  return  as  soon  as  he  can.  Here,  as 
elsewhere,  the  scenery  is  in  the  eye  of  the  observer, 
and  its  beauty  is  simply  relative. 

On  our  arrival,  we  had  seen  Thingvalla  in  its  finest 
colors ;  we  left  it  in  its  worst  and  most  forbidding 
aspect.  The  black  precipices,  the  green  Mountain  of 
Law,  the  fissured  hoary  lava,  the  sparkling  waterfall, 
the  clear  river,  the  placid  lake,  and  the  purple  moun- 
tains around,  combined  to  make  this  one  of  the  finest 
landscapes  in  Iceland ;  and  to  the  people  it  is  holy 
ground,  around  which  cluster  their  most  stirring  his- 
torical associations.  We  looked  at  the  Logberg  as  we 
would  at  Bunker  Hill,  as  consecrated  by  their  stern 
efforts  for  independence  and  justice ;  and  an  Ameri- 
can could  not  fail  to  admire  the  courage  of  these  old 
Norsemen,  and  to  feel  pity  for  their  subsequent  loss 
of  liberty ;  and  the  more,  as  Iceland  and  New  Eng- 
land are,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  two  great  repub- 
lics founded  on  a  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
free  from  the  sordid  motive  of  love  of  gain  and 
power.  ^ 

That  republic  fell  from  internal  dissensions  and 
the  intrigues  and  jealousies  of  its  leaders.     May  we 


132  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

not  read  a  lesson  from  its  fate,  profitable  to  our  own 
country,  where  sectional  strife  and  official  corruption 
threaten  our  credit,  cramp  our  resources,  poison  the 
fountain  of  justice,  and  bid  fair  to  make  our  grand 
experiment  of  self-government  a  failure  ;  and  a  warn- 
ing, instead  of  an  example,  for  the  monarchical,  priest- 
ridden  nations  of  the  old  world,  who  are  everyAvhere 
looking  to  republicanism,  with  the  United  States  of 
America  as  their  model? 


CHAPTER    IX. 
ROUTE    TO     THE    GEYSERS. 

Church  and  Parsonage  of  Thingvalla. — Trees  in  Iceland. 

—  Miles  of  Desolation.  —  Raven's  Chasm.  —  Snuff-taking. 

—  Lava  Cavern.  —  Mount  Hecla.  —  Bruara  or  Bridge 
River.  —  Steam  Jets.  —  Accident  to  one  of  our  Party. — 
Geyser  Valley,  —  Cooking  in  the  Little  Geyser.  —  Great 
Expectations  Disappointed.  —  Domestic  and  Medicinal 
Uses  of  the  Water.  — Beautiful  Scenery  of  the  Valley. 

"Everywhere  is  silence,  desolation,  monotony, — a  silence,  not 
as  of  death,  but  as  of  a  time  before  life  was.  One  is  awed  by  the 
presence  of  the  most  tremendous  forces  of  nature,  —  fire  which  has 
covered  these  peaks,  and  poured  out  these  lava  torrents ;  frost 
which  rends  the  rocks  and  soil,  and  frowns  down  upon  you  from 
the  interminable  ice-ridges.  Each  rode  alone  in  a  sort  of  grave 
exhilaration,  content  with  silence  and  the  present." 

"D  EFORE  starting  on  the  road  to  the  Geysers  and 
Hecla,  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  church 
and  parsonage  of  Thingvalla,  near  which  we  encamped 
for  three  nights. 

The  church  is  very  small,  as  its  congregation  con- 
sists of  the  few  families  around  the  valley ;  built  of 
wood,  painted  dark,  one  story  high,  with  a  little  bel- 
fry ;  it  is  about  40  by  30  ft.,  and  about  twenty  years  old. 
The  seats  are  rude  and  hard,  and  every  thing  of  the 
utmost  simplicity.     Like  other  churches  in  the  land. 


134  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

it  is  used  as  a  storehouse  during  the  week,  as  a  sleep- 
ing apartment  for  travellers ;  and,  while  we  were 
there,  was  filled  by  women,  as  a  lodging-place  more 
comfortable  than  their  tents  during  the  rainy  weather 
of  the  celebration.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
cellars  of  some  of  our  old  churches  are  still  used  for 
the  storage  of  cotton,  tobacco,  molasses,  liquors,  and 
other  commodities  ;  the  Icelander  stores  his  saddles 
and  implements  in  the  pews  themselves,  removing 
them  outside  on  Sundays.  Without  pretence,  even 
uncomfortable,  these  little  churches,  seen  in  almost 
every  settlement,  prove  the  religious  character  of  the 
people,  and  that  worship  is  just  as  natural  whether 
offered  in  a  tar-covered  barn,  a  hut  of  earth,  or  a 
stately  cathedral. 

The  churchyards  are  just  as  unostentatious,  a  tomb- 
stone of  any  description  being  very  rare.  The  church 
may  be  said  almost  to  belong  to  the  clergyman,  and 
is  generally  near  his  house.  The  clergy  are  the 
most  learned  men  of  the  island,  and  many  of  them 
distinguished  as  scholars,  poets,  historians,  and 
archaeologists.  Their  pay  is  so  ridiculously  small 
that  they  are  obliged  to  be  farmers,  shepherds,  black- 
smiths, or  any  thing  else  by  which  they  can  eke  out  a 
miserable  living  ;  and  yet  they  are  noble-hearted,  hos- 
pitable, and  faithful  to  their  parishes  and  to  strangers. 
Their  authority  is  great,  and  such  that,  in  Reykjavik, 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS.  1 35 

though  the  Roman  Catholics  have  a  chapel  and  one 
or  two  priests,  not  an  Icelander  has  been  perverted 
from  the  Lutheran  faith. 

The  pastor  at  Thingvalla,  Mr.  Beck,  was  quite  up- 
set by  the  royal  visit,  but  maintained  a  quiet  dignity 
remarkable  under  the  circumstances  of  being  nearly 
crowded  out  of  his  home  by  strangers.  After  the  king's 
departure  I  was  called  into  the  house  to  prescribe  for  a 
sick  girl,  and  found  the  sitting-room  very  comfortable, 
—  small  and  low-studded,  for  purposes  of  warmth, 
but  with  wainscoted  walls,  board  floor,  comfortable 
chairs,  and  the  usual  conveniences  of  a  well-to-do 
farmer  with  us.  The  exterior  was  of  stone,  the  roof 
covered  with  grassy  turf,  the  entrance  dark,  damp,  ill 
ventilated,  and  narrow.  I  stumbled  on  the  rough,  slip- 
pery pavement ;  hit  my  head  against  the  supporting 
timbers,  and  various  kinds  of  implements,  cooking 
utensils,  and  articles  of  food  and  clothing  hanging 
indiscriminately  in  the  dark  passage ;  and  was  quite 
unable  to  find  my  way  alone  in  or  out  of  the  sloppy 
labyrinth.  And  yet,  in  these  smoky,  noisome,  un- 
comfortable abodes  live  and  study,  happy  and  con- 
tented too,  many  excellent  classical  and  historical 
scholars,  whose  contributions  adorn  the  pages  of  the 
publications  of  the  learned  societies  of  Denmark, 
Norway,  and  Sweden. 

In  order  to  keep  in  advance  of  the  king,  we  started 


136  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

early  in  the  morning  with  the  same  train  of  animals, 
but  one  less  rider,  our  Icelandic  comrade,  Mr.  Mag- 
nusson,  having  been  left  behind  to  arrange  the  cere- 
monies of  the  celebration.  The  first  few  miles  was 
to  the  north,  along  the  river  and  the  Almannagj  a  preci- 
pices, and  past  the  fine  fall  of  the  Oxera.  We  then 
turned  to  the  east,  on  to  a  field  of  rough  lava,  more 
shattered  and  barren  than  that  of  the  day  before. 
Here  and  there  in  holes  grew  some  birches,  about  five 
feet  high,  with  trunks  as  large  as  the  wrist,  —  one  of 
the  so-called  forests  of  Iceland :  it  showed  what  de- 
termination will  do  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  for  the 
struggle  for  life  must  have  been  hard,  and  should 
furnish  a  hint  to  the  natives  to  plant  trees  for  fuel  in 
sheltered  places.  At  Akureyri,  in  the  north  part  of 
the  island,  is  a  mountain-ash,  twenty-six  feet  high, 
without  much  foliage,  the  largest  tree  in  Iceland  ;  its 
branches  are  secured  to  the  roof  of  a  house  in  win- 
ter, its  roots  covered  with  straw,  and  its  young  shoots 
wrapped  in  wool.  In  the  north  are  also  small  forests 
of  birch,  some  of  the  trees  being  twenty  feet  high ; 
these  are  favorite  resorts  for  the  ptarmigan  grouse. 
Yet  Iceland  may  truly  be  called  a  land  of  flowers,  of 
an  Alpine  character,  covering  the  soil  where  even 
grass  will  not  grow.  The  Geyser  valley,  at  Haukadal, 
is  famous  for  its  flowers,  the  warmth  and  moisture 
being  favorable  for  their  growth.     I   collected   and 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS,  1 37 

brought  home  a  considerable  number  of  species. 
With  this  exception,  the  scene  was  not  only  utterly 
desolate,  but  positively  frightful  in  the  ruggedness 
and  contortions  of  the  lava ;  deep  fissures,  disloca- 
tions of  great  masses  of  rock,  the  plain  torn  literally 
to  pieces,  attested  the  tremendous  forces  which  had 
been  at  work  here  ;  the  earthquake  and  the  volcano 
had  apparently  combined  their  utmost  fury,  and  like 
demons  had  blasted  and  shivered  every  thing  in  a  fiery 
chaos. 

After  two  hours'  ride  across  this  plain,  the  snow- 
covered  "  Broad  Shield  "  on  the  left,  and  the  beautiful 
lake  on  the  right,  we  came  to  a  black  chasm,  extend- 
ing from  the  lake  to  the  mountains,  which  seemed  to 
bar  further  passage ;  this  was  the  "  Chasm  of  the 
Raven,"  Hrafnagja,  forming  the  east  boundary  of  the 
Thingvalla  valley,  parallel  to  and  somewhat  resem- 
bling the  Almannagja  on  the  west :  it  is  not  so  high, 
but  more  rugged  and  distorted.  It  is  about  one  hun- 
dred feet  deep,  very  much  broken,  the  precipices 
overhanging  and  threatening  to  fall,  the  bottom  filled 
with  sharp,  colossal,  irregular  fragments,  and  below 
these  the  same  mysterious,  treacherous,  dark  water ; 
the  grandeur  and  wildness  are  very  imposing,  and  one 
feels  like  a  pygmy  visiting  a  battle-field  of  the  Titans. 
This  would  be  impassable,  and  would  require  a  toil- 
some and  dangerous  circuit  of  many  miles,  had  not 


138  AJV  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

immense  fragments  happened  to  fall  in  such  a  way  as 
to  form  a  natural  bridge  across  the  chasm,  —  a  pas- 
sage which  in  winter,  or  during  a  high  wind  or  blind- 
ing storm,  or  from  the  slipping  or  fright  of  a  horse, 
would  be  extremely  dangerous,  and  at  any  time  is 
trying  to  ill-balanced  nerves. 

Though  sore  from  the  long  ride  of  the  day  before, 
the  cheerful  sun  warmed  us  as  we  passed  over  miles 
of  desolation.  The  ponies  behaved  very  well,  as  they 
could  not  get  out  of  the  path  without  breaking  their 
necks.  The  guides  kicked  their  national  tattoo  on 
their  horses'  sides,  and  enlivened  the  scene  with  some 
native  songs,  in  the  intervals  passing  round  the  snuff- 
horn.  I  have  before  alluded  to  this  disgusting  na- 
tional habit  of  snuff-taking,  as  exhibited  in  the  pulpit 
at  Reykjavik;  it  is  still  worse,  though  less  conspicu- 
ous, in  the  common  events  of  the  day.  Every  now 
and  then  a  guide  would  take  from  his  pocket  a  small 
flask  or  horn,  pull  out  the  stopper,  throw  his  head 
back,  and  pour  a  portion  of  its  snuffy  contents  up  one 
or  both  nostrils  with  an  air  of  satisfaction,  indicated 
by  a  series  of  suppressed  snorts  ;  he  then  politely 
offers  it  to  his  companions  and  fellow-travellers.  It 
gives  their  voices  a  peculiar  sound,  and  often  disfigures 
by  its  colored  secretions  what  would  otherwise  be  a 
handsome  face.  Now  and  then  we  came  to  a  river 
which  we  easily  forded ;    we  kept  as   much   as   pus- 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS.  139 

sible  on  the  high  lands,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
treacherous  bogs,  in  which  man  and  horse  are  often 
dangerously  mired.  Skirting  one  of  these  meadows 
was  a  high  volcanic  ridge,  one  of  whose  old  lava 
streams  had  suddenly  cooled  on  the  top,  while  the 
fluid  contents  ran  out  at  the  bottom ;  this  had  left 
quite  a  cave,  which  we  stopped  to  examine ;  it  is  of 
considerable  size,  and  has  been  used  as  a  sheep-pen 
for  a  long  time.  We  did  not  go  in  far,  dreading  the 
vermin  which  congregate  in  such  places,  contenting 
ourselves  with  looking  at  the  initials  which  travellers 
and  others  had  cut  in  the  hard  stone  ;  none  of  us  felt 
inclined  to  imitate  their  example. 

As  we  went  around  the  flank  of  this  mountain  we 
saw  in  the  distance  a  snowy  range,  among  which  was 
the  majestic  Hecla,  with  its  complete  mantle  of  snow 
(whence  its  name) ;  not  beautiful  in  outline,  but  grand 
from  its  size,  and  brilliant  in  the  sunshine.  We 
should  soon  from  the  Geysers  have  a  much  nearer 
and  finer  view.  At  about  the  same  time  we  perceived 
at  a  great  distance  what  looked  like  a  jet  of  steam, 
and  imagined  we  were  near  the  plain  of  the  Geysers ; 
it  was,  however,  only  one  of  the  many  steam-jets  with 
which  this  part  of  the  country  is  filled,  evincing  the 
subterranean  'fiery  energies  which  have  desolated  the 
island.  We  had  to  cross  no  rivers  in  boats,  but  in 
the  afternoon  of   this  day  came  to  the  Bruard,  or 


140  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Bridge  river,  which  would  have  been  impassable,  but 
for  a  rude  submerged  and  invisible  bridge,  —  the  only 
river  in  Iceland,  seen  by  us,  which  has  a  bridge  over  it. 
It  looked  formidable,  even  impassable,  for  all  we  could 
see  was  a  furious  torrent  rushing  into  a  deep  chasm, 
and  in  the  middle  what  appeared  like  the  railing  of  a 
bridge.  The  river  is  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
wide,  flowing,  in  sheets  of  foam,  over  an  irregular  bed 
of  lava,  on  which  the  horses  with  difficulty  found  a 
foothold ;  the  two  currents  on  each  side  converge  in 
the  middle  to  a  wide  and  deep  fissure,  into  which  they 
dash  in  a  rapid  cataract  of  twenty  feet  in  height, 
with  a  loud  roar  and  great  emission  of  spray.  The 
guides  rode  boldly  in,  driving  the  pack-horses  before 
them,  and  we  followed  in  single  file,  in  fear  and  trem- 
bling, lest  a  horse  should  fall  or  get  frightened,  when 
he  and  his  rider  would  surely  be  swept  into  the  depths 
below.  In  mid-stream,  the  water  being  in  some  places 
two  feet  deep,  was  a  wooden  platform-bridge,  which 
spanned  the  chasm,  hidden  from  sight  by  a  sheet  of 
foamy  water;  firmly  pinned  to  the  rocks,  and  sup- 
ported beneath,  it  has  withstood  the  torrent  for  some 
years.  We  passed  over  it,  going  and  returning,  with- 
out accident,  and  there  is  really  no  danger,  unless  the 
bridge  is  deeply  submerged,  as  it  sometimes  is :  it 
probably  will  be  carried  away  by  some  sudden  rise  of 
the  river,  which,  with  the  scarcity  of  timber  in  Ice- 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS.  14I 

land,  would  render  this  path  to  the  Geysers  impracti- 
cable without  a  long  ditour. 

At  about  7  P.M.,  having  been  nearly  all  day  in  the 
saddle,  weary  and  hungry,  we  came  into  the  great, 
verdant  plain  in  which  are  situated  the  famous  Gey- 
sers. This,  of  course,  excited  us  to  hurry  to  witness 
an  eruption,  which  we  fancied  was  going  on  ;  but 
alas !  one  of  our  party  came  to  grief.  The  paths 
over  many  of  the  meadows  in  Iceland,  worn  by  the 
feet  of  horses  for  centuries,  are  so  sunk  beneath  the 
surface,  that  a  long-legged  man,  on  a  small  horse,  will 
.*^trike  his  feet  on  each  side,  running  great  risk  of  dis- 
locating his  ankles,  if  the  horse  be  going  fast.  The 
natives  have  a  habit  of  raising  first  one  leg  and  then 
the  other  to  avoid  this  danger ;  but  Mr.  Taylor, 
of  our  party,  not  relishing  the  bumps  and  twistings 
incurred  in  an  attempt  to  get  ahead  through  this  lab- 
yrinth of  ruts,  tried  suddenly  to  arrest  his  horse's 
speed.  In  the  words  of  Mr.  Halstead,  who  witnessed 
the  feat,  "  in  his  excitement  he  drew  rein  as  if  to  give 
pause  to  a  steed  of  sixteen  hands,  and  the  small  beast 
actually  in  service  struck  an  attitude  suddenly,  as 
when  a  festive  lamb  leaps  and  comes  down  stiff- 
legged.  The  horse  passed  from  beneath  his  rider  to 
the  rear,  and  the  latter  coming  to  the  front  very  rap- 
idly, extended  himself  on  his  back"  lengthwise  of  the 
path.     The  pony,  by  a  dexterous  movement  of  his 


142  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

right  foreleg  spared  the  classical  features  of  the 
rider,  and  prevented  the  destruction  of  the  fine  arches 
of  a  well-turned  physiognomy."  He  fortunately  fell 
in  a  soft  spot,  and  experienced  no  harm  other  than 
a  few  bruises  and  a  severe  shock.  True  to  his  edu- 
cation, the  pony,  whose  reins  had  fallen  over  his  head, 
remained  close  by,  waiting  to  be  remounted. 

In  a  space  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  by  three  hundred 
feet  are  included  the  Great  and  Little  Geyser,  the 
Strokr,  and  perhaps  a  dozen  other  smaller  and  name- 
less ones  ;  the  ground  seemed  honeycombed,  like  a 
body  pierced  by  foul  ulcers,  and  from  the  pits  and 
mounds  were  issuing  steam,  boiling  water,  and  liquid 
mud,  which  made  a  sizzling,  and  a  bubbling,  and  at 
times  a  thumping,  which  indicated  an  ample  supply 
of  heat  and  water,  and  suggested  an  unwelcome 
culinary  operation  we  should  all  be  subjected  to,  if 
the  thin  and  resonant  crust  over  this  immense  cal- 
dron should  from  any  cause  fall  in  beneath  our  weight. 
Threading  our  way  among  these  ugly-looking  holes, 
we  climbed  a  grassy  hill,  just  above  the  Strokr,  and 
pitched  our  tent.  We  expected  great  things  of  the 
Great  Geyser,  but,  like  other  celebrities,  it  persistently 
disappointed  us.  There  being  no  time  to  collect  wood 
and  perform  the  usual  cooking  operations  for  a  party 
of  twelve  famished  persons,  our  cook  simply  plunged 
some  canned  meats  in  the  hot  waters  of  the  Little 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS.  143 

Geyser,  and  in  the  same  place  immersed  our  tea  and 
coffee-pot,  and  we  very  soon  had  both  cooked  to  a  T, 
without  any  expense  or  trouble  of  making  a  fire. 
The  water  at  the  surface  was  not  boiling  hot,  and  a 
finger  could  be  plunged  in,  lingering  not  long,  with- 
out scalding  the  skin. 

Below  us,  in  the  valley,  and  in  a  more  exposed 
and  less  comfortable  position,  were  scattered  the  tents 
for  the  royal  party,  which  arrived  soon  after  us ;  and 
then  this  valley,  usually  still  and  lifeless,  swarmed 
with  men  and  horses,  and  echoed  with  the  noises  of 
expectant  hundreds.  We  went  to  sleep  with  one  eye 
and  one  ear  open,  but  their  subterranean  majesties, 
except  by  a  few  sullen  thumps,  as  if  to  exhibit  their 
anger  at  the  crowd  of  curious  foreigners,  made  no 
show  of  their  eruptive  powers.  We  did  not  know 
when  to  go  to  bed,  nor  when  to  get  up,  and  felt  like 
Lord  Dufferin's  rooster,  which,  in  the  "  high  latitudes 
of  the  midnight  sun,"  did  not  know  when  to  crow,  as 
the  sun  did  not  set  and  did  not  rise,  —  in  fact,  it  was 
quite  light  at  midnight,  and  dusky  only  from  I  to  2^ 
A.M.  We  slept,  therefore,  according  to  our  fatigue, 
without  reference  to  hours,  and  rose  very  early  in  the 
morning,  the  scene  at  which  is  thus  described  by  Mr. 
Taylor  in  the  "  New  York  Tribune  "  :  — 

"  We  took  our  toilet  articles,  and  went  half-dressed,  to 
the  hollow  between  the  Geyser  and  the  spring,  where  the 


144  AN  AMERICAN  JN  ICELAND. 

surplus  overflow  is  shallow  and  lukewarm.  It  was  already 
occupied,  —  a  royal  chamberlain  was  scooping  up  water  in 
his  hands,  an  admiral  was  dipping  his  tooth-brush  into  the 
stream,  a  Copenhagen  professor  was  laboriously  shaving 
himself  by  the  aid  of  a  looking-glass  stuck  in  a  crack  of 
the  crater,  and  the  king,  neat  and  fresh,  as  if  at  home, 
stood  on  the  bank,  and  amused  himself  with  the  sight. 
The  quality  of  the  water  is  exquisite  ;  it  is  like  down  and 
velvet  to  the  skin,  soap  becomes  a  finer  substance  in  it, 
and  the  refreshment  given  to  the  hands  and  face  seems  to 
permeate  the  whole  body." 

Mr.  Halstead,  of  our  party,  in  one  of  his  epistles 
to  the  Cincinnatians,  thus  discourses  on  the  same 
scene :  — 

"  Early  yesterday  morning  the  king  sought,  with  a  towel 
on  his  arm  and  a  piece  of  soap  in  his  fist,  a  place  to  wash, 
along  one  of  the  main  rivulets  running  from  the  geysers ; 
but  there  were  so  many  of  his  followers,  who  had  clearly 
not  anticipated  such  a  disposition  on  his  part  to  help  him- 
self, engaged  in  performing  their  ablutions  and  arranging 
their  toilets  by  the  stream,  that  he  was  discouraged,  and 
retired  unwashed  to  his  tent." 

In  old  times  swimming  and  bathing  were  much 
practised  by  the  Icelanders  ;  now  they  are  rarely,  if 
ever,  thought  of.  A  Yankee  is  much  surprised  to  see 
so  much  warm  water  running  to  waste,  when  a  few 
days*  work  at  the  Geyser  streams  would  make  any 
desired  number  of  bath  tubs,  and  with  a  temperature 


ROUTE    TO    THE    GEYSERS.  145 

of  water  to  suit  every  condition  of  health  or  disease. 
It  is  a  pity  to  neglect  such  a  vast  national  lavatory  in 
a  country  where  cleanliness  does  not  rank  next  to 
godliness.  If  the  iron  horse,  followed  by  the  ingen- 
ious Yankee,  ever  reaches  Iceland,  you  may  expect 
in  a  few  months  after  to  read  the  advertisement  of 
the  "World's  Great  Warm  Bath  Establishment"  at 
Haukadal. 

The  scene  in  this  valley  is  very  unlike  what  is 
generally  represented  by  travellers ;  it  is  green  and 
fertile,  several  miles  wide,  stretching  in  front  of  us  to 
the  mountains  in  the  south-east,  above  which  towered 
Hecla,  silvery  white,  entirely  covered  with  snow,  as 
low  as  the  eye  could  reach ;  behind  us  was  a  steep 
volcanic  ridge,  the  geysers  being  in  the  bottom  of 
this  hill-surrounded  plain ;  to  the  south  could  be  seen 
the  Geyser  River,  meandering,  between  its  green 
banks,  till  lost  in  the  purple  haze ;  to  the  north,  the 
icy  jokuls,  also  dazzling  white,  standing  like  grim 
sentinels  on  the  border  of  the  mysterious  desert  of 
Iceland,  —  as  it  were,  Greenland  on  the  one  side,  the 
fiery  tropics  beneath  our  feet,  and  a  boundless  expanse 
of  verdure  on  the  other. 


CHAPTER    X. 

IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS. 

Geysers  and  Steam  Jets.  —  Their  Water.  —  Great  Geyser. — 
Its  Mound,  Basin,  and  Pipe.  —  Its  Eruptions — Little 
Geyser  and  its  Uses. — The  Strokr.  —  Its  Provoked  Erup- 
tions.—  Cooking  by  its  Waters.  —  Theories  of  the  Gey- 
sers: Lyell's,  Bunsen's,  and  Tyndall's.  —  The  Power  in 
the  Tube,  and  not  in  any  Subterranean  Chambers.  — 
Agency  of  Steam.  —  Diagrams  of  Geyser  and  Strokr.  — 
The  King's  Memento  and  Departure.  —  Farewell  to  the 
Valley. 

"  And  it  bubbles  and  seethes,  and  it  hisses  and  roars, 
As  when  fire  is  with  water  coniniixed  and  contending, 

And  the  spray  of  its  wrath  to  the  welkin  upsoars, 
And  flood  upon  flood  hurries  on,  never  ending; 

And  it  never  will  rest,  nor  from  travail  be  free, 

Like  a  sea  that  is  laboring  the  birth  of  a  sea. 

Yet  at  length  comes  a  lull  o'er  the  mighty  commotion. 

And  dark  through  the  whiteness,  and  still  J:hrough  the  swell, 

The  whirlpool  cleaves  downward  and  downward  in  ocean, 
A  yawning  abyss,  like  the  pathway  to  hell ; 

The  stiller  and  darker  the  farther  it  goes, 

Sucked  into  that  smoothness  the  breakers  repose." 

/^^  EYSERS,  or  spouting  springs,  are  found  all 
over  Iceland,  some  sending  up  their  steam  jets 
from  the  midst  of  perpetual  ice,  and  others  bubbling 
up  beneath  the  ocean,  near  the  coasts ;  but  the  major- 
ity are  in  districts  in  which  the  volcanic  agencies  are 


IN   THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS,       147 

apparently  dying  out,  this  being  the  last  manifesta- 
tion of  the  expiring  forces.  Whether  constant  or 
intermittent,  they  almost  all  deposit  a  silicious  mat- 
ter, forming  the  basin  and  the  pipe,  and  finally  clos- 
ing the  opening  by  their  own  incrustations. 

The  famous  Geysers  of  Haukadal,  which  we  vis- 
ited, are  mentioned  in  the  old  sagas,  but  have  varied 
greatly  in  their  intensity,  even  within  the  last  sixty- 
five  years,  disturbed  by  earthquakes  and  other  causes, 
thus  accounting  for  the  different  statements  of  travel- 
lers. In  the  middle  of  the  seventeeth  century  the 
eruptions  seem  to  have  occurred  regularly  once  or 
twice  in  twenty-four  hours,  but  now  their  action  is 
extremely  irregular. 

At  a  distance,  the  jets  of  steam,  so  quiet  and  uni- 
form, do  not  impress  one  with  the  real  grandeur  of 
the  turmoil  which  is  going  on  beneath  the  surface. 
They  make  less  iuss  than  the  California  geysers, 
whose  spiteful  sputterings  show  the  utmost  of  their 
power,  while  the  deep  and  rare  grumblings  at  Hauk- 
adal indicate  the  concealed  but  tremendous  energy 
within  them  ;  it  is  like  the  snapping  cur  as  compared 
with  the  silent  mastiff,  or  the  caucus  politician  with 
a  Daniel  Webster. 

There  are  two  kinds,  one  having  jets  of  clear 
water ;  the  other  puffs  of  scalding  vapor,  coming 
up  through  a  soft  mud  or  clay,  of  a  reddish  color, 


148  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

probably  from  iron  salts.  In  the  waters  silica  is  held 
in  solution  by  salts  of  soda,  a  silicate  of  soda  being 
the  principal  ingredient ;  they  are  said  to  have  great 
remedial  powers,  externally  in  rheumatism,  and  inter- 
nally in  obstructions  of  the  liver,  —  but,  judging  from 
the  facility  with  which  objects  are  incrusted  by  their 
silicates,  it  would  seem  as  if  their  free  use  would 
soon  turn  a  person  to  stone ;  but  perhaps  the  living 
organism  would  so  modify  their  reactions,  as  to 
render  their  administration  safe  and  even  remedial. 
One  thing  is  certain,  the  water  is  impregnated  with 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  as  the  odor  plainly  indicates ; 
this  in  great  measure  escapes  as  it  cools,  yet  my 
experience  is  that  enough  of  the  sulphur  taste  re- 
mains to  injure  the  flavor  of  tea  and  toddy  made 
with  it. 

The  Great  Geyser  seems  to  have  always  been  of 
about  the  same  size;  it  is  situated  on  a  mound  of 
silicious  tufa,  in  thin  plates,  easily  detached  and 
crumbling  under  the  feet,  deposited  from  the  over- 
flow of  its  own  waters  ;  the  mound  is  some  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  diameter,  and  twenty  feet  high,  the  basin 
resembling  a  large  saucer,  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  and 
five  feet  deep,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  the  pipe  ten 
feet  across,  gradually  narrowing  to  seven,  and  seventy 
feet  deep,  where  it  ends  or  takes  a  turn  which  pre- 
vents further  sounding.     It  is  smoothly  polished  on 


1^ 


I 


^ 


tiKEAT     C.EYSKR     IN      KkIIIION,    JlLV,     I->74. 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS.       149 

the  inside,  but  as  rough  as  possible  outside.  Its 
eruptions,  as  described  by  all  who  have  seen  them, 
are  preceded  and  accompanied  by  noises  resembling 
the  booming  of  subterranean  cannon,  which  cause  a 
trembUng  in  the  water  and  in  the  surrounding  earth. 
The  volume  of  water  thrown  up  is  immense,  but  not 
to  a  greater  height  than  one  hundred  feet,  less  high 
than  that  of  the  Strokr,  which  is  of  much  less  diam- 
eter ;  its  waters  ascend,  like  those  of  a  huge  fountain, 
by  spasmodic  efforts,  each  more  violent  than  the  last, 
till  it  reaches  its  full  elevation,  assuming  the  form  of 
a  sheaf  of  silvery  columns,  spreading  in  the  form 
of  an  urn  or  a  ghostly  elm-tree.  The  eruption  rarely 
lasts  more  than  ten  minutes,  when  the  force  is  ex- 
hausted, and  the  water  falls  with  a  sullen  roar  within 
its  tube,  leaving  the  basin  dry,  sometimes  for  several 
hours,  during  which  periods  of  rest  it  has  been  often 
examined  and  measured.  As  we  saw  it,  the  basin 
was  full,  bubbling  and  seething  in  the  centre,  with 
occasional  deep-seated  detonations,  leading  us  con- 
stantly to  expect  an  eruption,  but  simply  causing  a 
slight  elevation  of  the  water  in  the  middle,  with 
a  corresponding  overflow.  The  surface  was  covered 
with  a  thick  steam,  sometimes  so  dense  as  to  prevent 
seeing  across  the  basin.  This  geyser  is  very  capri- 
cious in  its  action,  and  evidently  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons ;  it  would  not  spout  in  1856  for  prince  Napoleon, 


ISO  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

nor  in  1874  for  our  American  sovereigns  nor  the  king 
of  Denmark,  though  in  both  these  years  it  had  dis- 
played its  strength  a  few  hours  before  the  arrival  of 
the  strangers. 

Very  near  and  a  little  below  the  Great  Geyser  is 
the  Little  Geyser,  once  called  the  Roaring  Geyser, 
not  a  spouter  now,  its  powers  having  been  interfered 
with  by  a  violent  earthquake  in  1 789,  which  evidently 
dislocated  its  water-pipe  at  the  same  time  that  it 
opened  the  Strokr.  This,  often  called  the  "  Blazer," 
being  the  one  in  which  visitors  generally  cook,  con- 
sists of  two  great  holes  in  the  rock,  not  rising  above 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  separated  by  a  partial  par- 
tition at  the  upper  portion,  descending  to  a  great 
depth ;  the  larger  division  is  about  thirty  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, the  perfectly  clear  water  boiling  gently, 
with  an  occasional  overflow.  The  white,  irregular, 
but  smooth  sides  of  the  funnel  could  be  traced  many 
feet,  and  the  singular  play  of  ever-changing  blue  and 
green  tints  made  it  look  like  a  fairy  grotto.  The 
transparency  is  such  that  every  projection  and  cavity 
can  be  seen,  till  the  eye  detects  nothing  but  the  dark 
abyss.  It  is  a  most  weird  and  fascinating  place,  and, 
to  borrow  a  simile  from  Madame  Pfeiffer,  just  the 
place  to  read  Schiller's  "  Diver,"  where  the  goblet 
might  well  rest  on  one  of  the  jagged  points,  with  a 
monster  about  to  rise  from  its  blue  depths. 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS.       151 

**  Below,  at  the  foot  of  that  precipice  drear, 

Spread  the  gloomy  and  purple  and  pathless  obscure  ! 
A  silence  of  Horror  that  slept  on  the  ear. 

That  the  eye  more  appalled  might  the  Horror  endure  1 
Salamander,  snake,  dragon,  —  vast  reptiles  that  dwell 
In  the  deep, — coiled  about  the  grim  jaws  of  their  hell. 

Dark  crawled,  glided  dark  the  unspeakable  swarms. 

Clumped  together  in  masses,  misshapen  and  vast ; 

Here  clung  and  here  bristled  the  fashionless  forms." 

But  goblets  of  more  earthy  character  interested  us 
here,  as  we  were  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  used  the 
lower  of  these  beautiful  caldrons  for  the  making  of 
tea  and  the  cooking  of  fish  and  canned  meats.  The 
water  at  the  surface  was  not  at  the  boiling  point,  not 
more  than  180^  F.,  but  beneath  the  surface  it  was 
sufficient  for  rude  cooking  purposes,  —  a  very  fortu- 
nate circumstance  for  travellers,  as  there  is  no  fuel 
within  several  miles. 

The  Strokr,  or  "  Churn,"  is  the  most  interesting  of 
the  Geysers,  as  it  may  be  irritated  any  day  to  show 
its  powers  by  artificial  means  ;  viz.,  by  pouring  a  cart- 
load of  sods  down  its  capacious  throat.  This  geyser 
was  immediately  in  front  of  our  tent,  and  we  went  to 
work  at  once  to  get  ready  the  pile  of  sods  to  produce 
the  eruption,  when  we  were  requested  not  to  do  so, 
for  fear  that  the  same  dose  applied  on  the  morrow 
would  not  operate  in  the  presence  of  the  king.  So 
we  contented  ourselves  with  looking  into  its  mouth, 


152  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

which  is  a  rounded  hole  in  the  rock,  about  six  feet  in 
diameter,  when  we  saw  the  water,  ten  or  twelve  feet 
below,  boiling,  with  the  usual  bubbling  and  splashing 
of  violent  ebullition,  and  an  occasional  emission  of 
steam.  The  whole  depth  is  forty-four  feet,  and  the 
tube  is  said  to  contract  to  about  eight  inches  twenty- 
seven  feet  down. 

The  next  morning,  after  his  majesty's  breakfast,  the 
earth  emetic  was  administered  to  the  Strokr,  and  we 
all  retired  to  a  respectful  distance  to  await  its  opera- 
tion. After  waiting  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  during 
which  the  king  and  his  suite  mingled  with  the  crowd 
in  a  familiar  and  democratic  way,  the  internal  com- 
motion was  much  increased,  with  rumbling  angry 
sounds ;  then  the  black  mass  was  upheaved  with 
violence  in  a  column  as  large  as  the  opening,  con- 
sisting of  innumerable  jets,  with  whirling  masses  of 
sods :  some  of  the  streams  went  rolling  down  the 
hill,  but  most  fell  into  the  mouth,  to  be  again  ejected. 
The  eruption  lasted  about  ten  minutes  in  full  force, 
and  then  gradually  subsided,  with  an  occasional  high 
jet.  As  near  as  we  could  judge,  the  height  attained 
was  not  over  a  hundred  feet ;  compared  with  that  of 
the  Great  Geyser,  the  stream  is  slender  and  dark- 
colored,  that  of  the  former  being  more  urn-shaped 
and  pure.  The  eruptions  will  continue  till  the  sods 
are  discharged,  or  so  disintegrated  that  they  do  not 


Eruption   of   Strokr,  Aug.    5,  1874. 


IN  THE   VALLEY  OF   THE   GEYSERS.       153 

interfere  with  the  free  escape  of  the  steam.  It  should 
be  stated  that  the  sods  are  a  stringy  kind  of  peat, 
which  retain  their  form  and  substance  for  a  consider- 
able time. 

Commodore  Forbes,  Royal  Navy,  who  visited  Ice- 
land in  1859,  ^^^  ^^  experience  with  the  Strokr,  so 
characteristic  that  I  will  mention  it.  He  had  invited 
the  priest  and  farmer  at  Haukadal  to  dinner,  and  he 
prepared  it  in  the  following  novel  way.  He  piled  the 
customary  mound  of  turf  at  the  edge  of  thd  Strokr, 
and,  taking  his  reserve  flannel  shirt,  packed  a  breast 
of  mutton  in  the  body,  and  a  grouse  in  each  sleeve ; 
he  then  threw  in  the  turf,  and  immediately  after  the 
shirt  containing  his  dinner.  After  waiting  forty 
minutes,  and  fearing  that  the  Strokr  had  digested 
his  mutton,  he  was  on  the  point  of  administering 
another  dose  of  turf  when  the  eruption  took  place. 
To  use  his  own  words,  "  surrounded  with  steam  and 
turf  sods,  I  beheld  my  shirt  in  mid-air,  arms  extended, 
like  a  head-  and  tail-less  trunk ;  it  fell  lifeless  by 
the  brink."  The  mutton  was  done  to  a  turn,  but 
the  grouse  were  in  threads ;  the  shirt  was  none  the 
worse,  except  in  color,  the  dye  having  been  scalded 
out  of  it. 

Different  theories  have  been  advanced  by  physi- 
cists to  account  for  these  eruptions.  The  oldest  one, 
which  Professor  Lyell  seems  to  favor,  is  that  water 

7* 


154  A^  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

collects  in  subterranean  chambers,  which,  in  Iceland, 
must  be  numerous  from  volcanic  causes,  and  at 
Haukadal,  in  a  great  elliptical  plain,  thirteen  hundred 
by  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  in  a  north-east  and 
south-west  direction,  surrounded  by  mountains  ;  this 
water  —  boiling  from  the  elevated  temperature  of  the 
heated  strata  shown  by  Professors  Mallett  and  Hunt 
to  exist  between  the  cooling  crust  and  the  shrinking 
nucleus,  whose  movements  are  converted  into  heat  — 
is  forced*  to  the  surface  through  natural  openings  by 
the  compression  of  steam ;  and,  when  this  steam  is 
under  an  accumulated  pressure,  it  ejects  the  water,  as 
a  fountain  or  geyser,  to  a  height,  and  for  a  time,  pro- 
portionate to  this  force.  The  periodicity  is  believed 
to  be  due  to  the  varying  size  and  depth  of  the  re- 
ceiver, and  to  the  escape  of  the  steam  through  several 
small  outlets.  As  to  the  provoked  action  of  the 
Strokr,  the  foreign  matters  put  in  settle  to  the  nar- 
row throat  of  the  pipe,  and  prevent  the  escape  of 
steam,  till  the  pressure  becomes  sufficient  to  throw 
out  the  obstructions  with  the  water,  and  give  relief. 

Others,  though  admitting  the  agency  of  steam,  do 
not  consent  to  the  above  explanation  of  its  action. 
Though  it  is  estimated  that  nearly  one-tenth  of  the 
island  is  encased  in  ice,  and  that  its  melting,  with  the 
frequent  rains,  fills  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  marshes, — 
though  much  of  this  water  undoubtedly  descends  by 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS.       155 

subterranean  courses  into  heated  volcanic  fissures,  and 
thence  by  the  combined  action  of  steam  and  hydro- 
static pressure  escapes  as  hot  springs ;  and  though 
the  line  of  the  principal  ones  is  that  of  the  south-west 
and  north-east  line  of  volcanic  activity,  —  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  they  are  all  near  the  present  water- 
courses, and  that  the  source  of  their  water  may  be 
from  the  surface  supply  in  their  vicinity.  They  are 
on  different  levels,  even  to  the  extent  of  about  fifty 
feet  ;  they  probably  do  not  communicate  with  each 
other,  though  the  people  believe  they  do ;  any  appar- 
ent influence  of  one  on  another  might  depend  on  a 
derangement  of  the  general  surface  supply  by  one 
in  activity,  without  leading  to  the  inference  of  direct 
communication.  Captain  Forbes,  above  quoted,  is 
of  opinion  that  the  superficial  waters  meeting  heated 
surfaces,  owing  to  the  geological  peculiarities  of  the 
crust,  both  create  and  destroy  these  natural  foun- 
tains. 

The  formation  which  contains  the  geysers  is  a  great 
silicious  deposit,  of  the  variety  called  palagonite,  three 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  above  the  sea,  in  which  all 
the  hot  springs  of  the  country  are  said  to  be  situated  ; 
the  mountain  range  above  is  a  hard  trachyte,  but  at 
its  base,  at  Haukadal,  are  many  incrustations,  and  one 
mound  of  considerable  size,  formed  by  these  and  the 
reddish  clays  of  old  and  extinct  geysers.     The  side  of 


156  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  hill  above  bears  marks  of  having  been  perforated 
with  boiling  springs,  the  silicious  sinter  of  their  de- 
posits occurring  very  high  up  ;  these  were  gradually 
obliterated  by  their  own  deposits,  a  process  now  going 
on  in  the  larger  geysers  below.  The  late  eruption 
and  earthquakes  in  the  Vatna  Jokul  in  1875  are  said 
to  have  considerably  changed  the  character  of  these 
geysers.  By  the  combined  action  of  carbonic  acid, 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  heated  water  on  the  palag- 
onite,  a  bubbling  thermal  spring  may  be  converted 
into  a  violent  geyser,  which,  in  the  course  of  centuries, 
if  not  sooner  destroyed  by  sorne  convulsion,  will  grad- 
ually be  filled  up  and  become  extinct.  The  hot  spring 
by  the  above  reactions  separates  the  silica  from  the 
palagonite,  and  deposits  it  on  the  overflowed  margin ; 
this  incrustation,  gradually  increasing  in  height,  by 
degrees  is  converted  into  a  tube  more  or  less  deep : 
this,  in  its  always-growing  mound  of  silicious'  tufa, 
after  reaching  a  certain  height,  converts  it  into  a  gey- 
ser. The  long  narrow  tube  is  continually  filled  and 
replenished  with  a  column  of  highly  heated  water, 
which,  under  the  accumulated  pressure  of  the  column 
above,  attains  a  much  higher  temperature  than  the 
original  spring.  The  rapid  generation  of  steam  at 
this  high  temperature  is  the  mechanical  power  of  the 
geyser,  which,  according  to  the  heat  accumulated  and 
the  resistance  of  the  column,  throws  up  the  stream 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE   GEYSERS.       15/ 

with  violence,  and  maintains  it  till  the  equilibrium  is 
restored,  the  activity  depending  on  the  supply  of  water 
and  heat,  the  evaporation  at  the  surface,  and  weight 
of  the  atmosphere. 

The  water  which,  at  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere, 
might  not  be  hot  enough  to  cause  any  eruptive  action 
of  steam,  at  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  with  the  addi- 
tional weight  of  the  superincumbent  body  of  water, 
would  acquire  such  an  additional  heat,  in  proportion 
to  the  pressure,  that  an  instantaneous  generation  of 
steam  would  cause  an  eruption.  The  detonations  so 
often  heard  are  caused  by  the  sudden  condensation  of 
the  bubbles  as  they  rise  to  a  cooler  layer  of  water. 
When  the  whole  column  begins  to  rise,  the  overflow 
diminishes  the  pressure  below,  and  the  excess  of 
temperature  above  that  point  is  immediately  applied 
to  the  generation  of  steam  ;  this  causes  another  rise 
and  diminution  of  pressure  and  another  generation  of 
steam,  till  what  is  left  is  forced  upward  with  the  whole 
power  of  the  high-pressure  steam.  The  lowest  part 
of  the  tube  may  not  be  interested  in  the  eruption. 

When,  by  successive  deposits  from  its  own  waters, 
the  tube  becomes  so  long  that  the  supply  of  heat 
from  below  and  the  cooling  at  the  surface  are  so  near 
equilibrium  that  none  of  the  water  can  attain  the  boiling 
point,  owing  to  an  increased  pressure,  the  eruptions 
cease,  and  the  geyser  becomes  such  a  heated  pool  as 


158 


AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 


DIAGRAM   OF  GEYSER.^ 


*  ^,  Represents  a  subterranean  channel  supplied  with  water  from 
the  river  in  the  vicinity,  diverted  from  its  bed  by  some  fault  in  the 
strata,  and  trying  to  regain  its  level,  impelled  by  great  hydrostatic 
pressure. 

Finding  an  outlet  up  through  the  heated  palagonite  crust,  d,  d,  it 
supplies  the  i^ater-power  in  the  tube,  a,  which  has  been  built  up  by 
the  successive  silicious  deposits,  f,  r,  the  lowest  formed  by  the  water 
which  first  issued  from  the  spring. 

The  water  enters  the  tube  at  a  high  temperature  from  its  passage 
through  the  palagonite ;  in  the  tube  it  is  further  heated  by  the  hot 
silicious  sides. 

b.  Is  the  shallow  basin  worn  by  the  heavy  fall  of  water  in  the  suc- 
cessive eruptions. 

According  to  this  explanation,  which  is  that  of  Bunsen,  who 
visited  the  Geyser  in  1846,  the  power  lies  wholly  in  the  tube,  and  not 
in  any  imaginary  and  unnecessary  subterranean  cavern. 


Norseman   from    Faroes. 


Student's   Dress. 


Festival  Costume. 
The  Faldr, 


Common   Head-dress. 
The  Hufa. 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS.       159 

the  so-called  Little  Geyser,  though  this  received  its 
quietus,  not  from  old  age,  but  from  a  volcanic  convul- 
sion. It  has  been  estimated,  from  the  deposit  of  silica 
made  in  twenty-four  hours,  that  the  Great  Geyser  is 
about  1050  years  old :  in  its  earlier  days  it  would  be 


DIAGRAM   OF  THE  STROKR. 


♦  The  power  of  the  Strokr  lies  also  in  its  tube,  and  not  in  any 
subterranean  chamber.  In  the  contracted  portion  the  steam  is  gen- 
erated, and  when  this  orifice  is  closed  by  stones  or  turf,  the  portion 
below  is  subjected  to  great  heat,  which  it  cannot  communicate  to  the 
main  body ;  the  sudden  liberation  of  super-heated  steam,  therefore, 
overcomes  the  pressure,  and  causes  an  eruption,  with  the  ejection  of 
the  obstructions. 

Bunsen  also  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that  water,  after  being 
long  subjected  to  heat,  loses  much  of  the  air  contained  in  it,  has  the 
cohesion  of  its  molecules  much  increased,  and  requires  a  higher 
temperature  to  make  it  boil  ;  and  that,  when  it  does  boil,  the  produc- 
tion of  vapor  is  so  great  and  instantaneous  that  it  becomes  explosive. 
This,  therefore,  should  be  added  to  the  amount  of  heat  rendered 
necessary  .simply  from  increased  pressure. 


l6o  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

quite  insignificant,  and  would  hot  be,  and  is  not,  men- 
tioned in  the  early  annals  of  Iceland ;  and  it  did  not 
attract  historic  attention  till  the  early  part  of  the 
fourteenth  century  (some  say  seventeenth),  when  its 
tube  must  have  been  about  twenty-six  feet  deep,  not 
the  half  of  its  present  depth.  It  is  p];obably  now  in 
its  stage  of  decay. 

The  geyserite,  or  the  solid  incrustations,  is  over 
eighty  per  cent  of  silica,  with  three  per  cent  alumina, 
and  a  little  magnesia,  iron,  potash,  and  soda. 

Tyndall,  in  "  Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion,"  Lecture 
IV.,  illustrates  and  figures  the  mechanism  of  the  gey- 
ser, substantially  as  just  stated,  and  compares  its 
stages  of  activity  to  the  epochs  of  life.  We  have, 
in  fact,  the  geyser  in  its  youth  as  a  simple  thermal 
spring  ;  in  its  manhood,  as  an  eruptive  column  ;  in  its 
old  age,  as  a  tranquil  pool  or  cistern  of  warm  water  ; 
while  its  death  is  recorded  by  the  ruined  shaft  and 
mound,  testifying  to  the  fact  of  its  once  active  exist- 
ence. We  find  at  Haukadal  these  four  stages  :  i.  The 
little  bubblers  in  the  valley;  2.  The  Great  Geyser, 
with  its  occasional  activity ;  3.  The  Little  Geyser,  or 
"  Blazer,"  a  tranquil  well  of  clear  hot  water ;  and, 
4.  The  mounds  of  clay  and  sinter  behind  the  Great 
Geyser,  and  on  the  hill-side. 

After  waiting  in  vain  for  the  eruption  of  the  Great 
^Geyser,  the  king  and  his  party  were  reluctantly  com- 


IN  THE    VALLEY  OF  THE  GEYSERS.       l6l 

polled  to  take  their  departure,  in  order  to  be  present 
the  next  day  at  the  celebration  in  Thingvalla.  Before 
f:^oing,  however,  he  caused  to  be  cut  upon  a  large 
lava  boulder,  in  a  conspicuous  situation,  a  lasting 
memento  of  his  visit,  in  the  following  inscription :  — 


e, 


On  the  day  of  his  departure  a  second  dose  of  sods 
was  administered  to  the  Strokr,  which,  after  an  inter- 
val so  long  that  it  was  believed  inoperative,  finally 
produced  an  eruption  of  more  than  usual  volume, 
height,  and  beauty;  and,  just  as  the  royal  party  were 
turning  the  corner  of  the  valley,  the  watery  columns 
shot  up,  bidding  in  appropriate  floods  of  tears  farewell 
to  king  Christian  the  Ninth. 

Our  party  started  a  few  hours  after  the  king,  pass- 
ing his  train  while  eating  their  dinner  in  a  fertile 
meadow,  near  the  sheep-cave  in  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain before  alluded  to.  We  took  our  lunch,  going 
and  returning,  by  the  side  of  a  charming  stream,  in 
full  view  of  the  volcanic  mountain,  and  objectionable 
only  from  the  boggy  nature  of  the  soil  away  from  the 
banks.  The  king  repassed  us  near  Thingvalla.  Two 
of  our  party  remained  behind  till  dark,  in  hope  of 
seeing  an  eruption,  but  got  nothing  but  loss  of  sleep 
and  fatigue  from  missing  their  way,  and  a  dismal  ride 
in  a  cold  rain. 

K 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    OLD     NORSEMEN. 

The  Old  Norsemen.  —  Exposure  of  Children.  —  Eating  op 
Horse-flesh.  —  Marriage  Customs.  —  Dwellings.  —  Hospi- 
tality. —  Male  Costume.  —  Female  Dress.  —  Vikings.  — 
Navigation.  —  Amusements.  —  Banquets.  —  Sports.  —  Re- 
spect for  the  Dead.  —  Characters  and  Origin.  —  Scandi- 
navian Influence  in  Europe  and  America. 

"  I  am  the  God  Thor, 
I  am  the  War  God, 
I  am  the  Thunderer  ! 
Here,  in  my  Northland, 
My  fastness  and  fortress, 
Reign  I  for  ever  ! 
Here,  amid  icebergs, 
Rule  I  the  nations  I  " 

nPHE  old  Northmen,  worshippers  of  the  Scandi- 
navian gods,  would  glory  in  the  above  quotation 
from  Longfellow's  "  Saga  of  King  Olaf."  The  Chris- 
tianized, modern  Icelanders,  as  will  be  shown  here- 
after, are  the  descendants  of  Norwegian  ancestors, 
who  settled  the  island  one  thousand  years  ago.  They 
were  mixed,  especially  on  the  coast,  with  Danes  and 
Swedes  ;  all,  at  that  remote  period,  much  aUke  in  lan- 
guage, manners,  and  religion,  and  diescended  from  the 
same  old  stock  of  the  Northmen,  the  present  inhab- 


THE    OLD   NORSEMEN.  1 63 

itants  looking  like  the  modern  Norwegians,  of  whom 
we  have  large  numbers  in  our  North-western  States. 
The  characteristics  of  these  Northmen  —  sea-rovers 
or  Vikings,  worshippers  of  Thor  and  Odin  —  were 
their  warlike  spirit,  love  of  freedom  and  distant  ad- 
ventures, fondness  for  poetry,  pomp,  and  traditionary- 
lore,  and  a  system  of  theism  mingled  in  course  of 
time  with  gross  superstition.  Softened  and  civilized 
by  Christianity,  afterward  oppressed  by  foreign  pow- 
ers, who  took  advantage  of  their  own  dissensions,  and 
at  all  times  hampered  by  their  isolation,  cold  climate, 
and  barren  soil,  the  present  character  of  the  people  is 
a  result  of  many  discouraging  surroundings. 

The  private  life  of  the  Northmen,  at  the  time  of 
the  settlement  of  Iceland,  was  as  different  from  that 
of  their  descendants  in  the  nineteenth  century,  as 
was  their  patriarchal  republic  from  the  present  Da- 
nish dependency.  The  changes  in  domestic  life  were 
doubtless  due  mainly  to  the  more  peaceful  influence 
of  Christianity. 

In  their  pagan  age,  it  was  the  custom  for  the  father 
to  determine,  as  soon  as  a  child  was  born,  whether  it 
should  be  exposed  to  death,  or  brought  up  ;  and  this, 
not  because  the  rearing  of  a  deformed  or  weak  child 
would  deteriorate  a  race  which  prided  itself  on 
strength  and  courage,  but  from  the  inability  of  the 
parents,  from   poverty,  to  bring  up   their  offspring. 


1 64  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

The  newly  born  child  was  laid  on  the  ground,  and 
there  remained  untouched  till  its  fate  was  decided  by 
the  father,  or  nearest  male  relative ;  if  it  was  to  live, 
it  was  taken  up  and  carried  to  the  father,  who,  by 
placing  it  in  his  arms,  or  covering  it  with  his  cloak, 
made  himself  publicly  responsible  for  its  mainten- 
ance. It  was  then  sprinkled  with  water  and  named ; 
this  was  regarded,  in  pagan  times,  as  sacred  as  the 
rite  of  baptism  by  Christians,  and  after  its  perform- 
ance it  was  murder  to  expose  it.  Children  were  often 
brought  up  by  foster-parents  away  from  home,  and 
the  relation  was  generally  one  of  strong  mutual  affec- 
tion ;  this  custom  continued  after  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  The  usual  plan  was  either  to  place  the 
infant  in  a  covered  grave  and  there  leave  it  to  die,  or 
to  expose  it  in  some  lonely  spot,  where  wild  animals 
would  not  be  likely  to  find  it.  After  the  introduction 
of  Christianity,  such  exposure  was  permitted  only  in 
cases  of  extreme  deformity.  The  custom  remained 
longer  in  Iceland,  as  the  people  considered  it  a  great 
hardship  to  be  prevented  from  exposing  their  chil- 
dren, and  at  the  same  time  to  be  debarred  from  eating 
horse-flesh,  which  had  hitherto  been  their  chief  means 
of  subsistence. 

I  beg  the  reader  to  pardon  me  a  slight  digression 
here,  to  state  that  the  eating  of  horse-flesh  is  one 
of  the  oriental  characteristics  of  the  Norsemen,  and 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  1 65 

points  to  their  eastern  origin.  In  a  country  where 
the  means  of  subsistence  were  limited,  from  warlike 
pursuits  and  the  consequent  neglect  of  agriculture 
and  pastoral  employments,  the  use  of  horse-flesh,  as 
food,  was  almost  a  matter  of  necessity.  It  long  con- 
tinued in  Iceland,  and  was  abandoned  only  when  other 
articles  of  food  became  more  abundant.  In  modern 
days,  in  Europe,  where  the  poor  of  large  cities  rarely 
taste  fresh  meat,  the  flesh  of  the  horse  is  an  es- 
teemed, nutritious,  palatable,  and  wholesome  food. 
When  we  consider  the  food  and  habits  of  the  horse, 
as  compared  with  those  of  the  filthy  hog,  we  must 
confess  that  it  is  simply  prejudice  which  prevents  the 
former  from  being  ranked  in  the  market  by  the  side 
of  beef  and  mutton.  The  French  have  of  late  years 
been  making  efforts,  now  crowned  with  success,  to 
introduce  horse-flesh  as  an  article  of  food.  A  recent 
French  journal  gives  an  account  of  a  banquet  given 
at  Alfort,  near  Paris,  for  the  purpose  of  comparing 
horse-flesh  with  beef. 

The  guests  were  distinguished  men  of  the  capital, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  director,  had  never 
tasted  horse-flesh  before.  To  render  the  trial  fair, 
beside  each  dish  of  horse  was  a  corresponding  one 
in  beef.  The  animal  which  furnished  the  meat  was 
twenty-three  years  of  age,  partly  palsied  in  the  hind 
limbs,  and,  therefore,  though  in  other  respects  per- 


1 66  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

fectly  healthy,  not  likely  to  furnish  such  good  eating 
as  a  younger  one.  "The  verdict  in  regard  to  the 
soup  was  unanimously  in  favor  of  horse-flesh,  tast- 
ing like  beef-soup,  but  thicker,  more  gelatinous,  and 
more  capable  of  concentration.  The  banquet  closed 
with  a  fine,  fat  fillet  of  horse,  larded  and  dressed  like 
venison ;  it  was  triumphantly  welcomed  and  pro- 
nounced super-excellent ;  tender,  juicy,  high-flavored  ; 
more  delicate  and  melting  than  venison,  more  gamy 
than  beef.  It  was  by  all  pronounced  a  great  addi- 
tion to  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  —  a  sort  of  mixture 
between  venison,  hare,  and  beef.  Every  guest,  on 
leaving,  begged  the  cook  to  cut  off  a  good  slice,  that 
he  might  carry  it  home,  and  let  the  female  inmates  of 
his  house  judge  of  its  excellence."  The  sale  of  horse- 
meat  is  now  regular  in  the  cities  and  large  towns  of 
France  and  Belgium,  and  its  price  is  regulated  by 
law ;  it  is  much  cheaper  and  more  nutritious  than 
beef,  and  is  rapidly  winning  its  way  to  public  favor. 
We  need  not,  therefore,  hold  up  our  hands  in  horror 
at  the  old  Norsemen  and  early  inhabitants  of  Iceland, 
because  they  ate  horse-flesh,  and  considered  it  a  hard- 
ship to  be  forbidden  to  use  it. 

Though  bodily  excellence  was  the  first  object  in 
view,  mental  culture  was  by  no  means  neglected ; 
knowledge  of  the  runes,  skill  in  the  art  of  poetry, 
acquaintance  with  the  laws  and  religious  and  histor- 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  1 6/ 

ical  myths,  proficiency  in  foreign  languages  and  nat- 
ural science,  and  the  cultivation  of  eloquence,  were 
deemed  of  great  importance.  The  education  of  girls 
had  especial  reference  to  making  them  good  house- 
wives, and  sometimes  it  took  the  direction  of  the 
study  of  medicine  ;  the  mother  is  the  natural  teacher 
and  physician  of  her  children. 

The  Northmen,  in  their  way,  paid  great  respect  to 
woman  :  hence  the  social  intercourse  between  the 
sexes,  young  and  old,  married  and  single,  was  quite 
free ;  and  history  shows,  for  our  information,  that, 
in  proportion  as  woman  has  been  the  equal  and  co- 
worker with  civilized  man,  has  been  the  refinement 
and  purity  of  social  relations. 

The  authority  of  the  father,  however,  or  the  natu- 
ral guardians,  in  case  of  proposed  marriage,  was  de- 
cisive, either  with  or  against  the  girl's  inclinations  ; 
a  widow  could  not  be  compelled  to  marry  a  second 
time,  nor  could  she  marry  without  the  consent  of  her 
father,  brother,  or  sons.  Marriage  was  a  regular  busi- 
ness affair,  and  the  settlement  of  the  conditions  often 
a  shrewd  bargain.  If  a  girl  married  without  the 
consent  of  her  parents,  the  father  could  disinherit 
her  and  her  children  ;  and  the  man  who  made  her 
his  wife,  under  such  circumstances,  was  liable  to 
be  punished  for  abduction  ;  this  right  was  not  al- 
ways exercised.     If  the  father  were  dead,  the  near- 


l68  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

est  male  relatives  became  her  natural  guardians. 
Betrothal  could  not  be  extended  beyond  three 
years,  and  neither  party  could  break  it  without  pun- 
ishment and  disgrace.  With  the  introduction  o£ 
Christianity,  marriage  became  a  religious  rite.  Plu- 
rality of  wives,  though  not  expressly  forbidden,  was 
never  general,  either  in  Norway  or  Iceland.  Should 
a  man  lay  violent  hands  upon  his  wife  three  times, 
she  was  at  liberty  to  leave  him,  taking  both  dower 
and  settlement ;  but  such  violence  was  rare,  as  it  was 
looked  upon  as  most  unmanly.  Says  their  old  law : 
"  Every  man  owes  the  same  duty  to  his  wife  that  he 
owes  to  himself ; "  but  the  husband  alone  possessed 
all  rights  concerning  the  disposal  of  the  children. 
As  in  all  well-ordered  households,  in  all  time,  the 
husband's  duty  was  to  see  to  every  thing  out  of  the 
house,  and  that  of  the  wife  to  have  the  care  of  every 
thing  within  it ;  but  now  and  then  superior,  strong- 
minded  women  would  so  far  encroach  upon  the  hus- 
band's province  as  to  bring  him  into  disgrace. 

Divorces  were  very  common  ;  mutual  disinclina- 
tion, the  will  of  the  husband,  abuse  of  his  wife,  or 
the  wearing  by  either  party  of  garments  belonging 
to  the  opposite  sex,  were  sufficient  grounds  for  sepa- 
ration. When  the  wife  sought  the  divorce,  she  was 
obliged  to  proclaim  her  lawful  reasons  within  the 
house,  before  its  principal  entrance,  and  at  the  public 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  1 69 

assembly.  A  divorce  offered  no  impediment  in  the 
way  of  either  party  marrying  again.  When  marriage 
became  a  religious  rite,  divorce  was  granted  by  the 
church,  and  never  without  the  strongest  reasons. 

Their  dwellings  were  much  like  those  now  used  in 
Iceland,  not  having,  like  ours,  under  one  roof  several 
apartments  of  different  sizes,  and  on  several  stories  ; 
each  apartment  was  a  house  in  itself,  and  a  family 
dwelling  consisted  of  an  assemblage  of  such  houses, 
according  to  the  rank  and  wealth  of  the  owner. 

The  principal  room  was  the  hall  or  skaliy  or  keep- 
ing-room, oblong  in  form,  and  generally  with  its  long 
axis  east  and  west,  'with  the  main  entrance  in  the 
eastern  gable  ;  in  front  was  a  kind  of  open,  wide  ves- 
tibule. This  room  was  open  to  the  roof ;  the  floor,  of 
beaten  earth,  sometimes  strewed  with  rushes  or  straw. 
In  the  middle,  lengthways,  was  a  hearth  for  the  fire, 
the  smoke  from  which  filled  the  upper  part,  blacken- 
ing the  rafters,  and  escaping  by  a  hole  in  the  roof. 
Light  was  admitted  through  this  hole,  and  through 
openings  in  lower  part  of  roof,  closed  by  the  translu- 
cent foetal  membrane  of  a  calf  stretched  on  a  frame- 
work of  wood,  opened  and  shut  at  pleasure.  Glass 
was  not  in  use  in  dwellings  during  pagan  times,  so 
that  the  houses  were  quite  dark.  Along  each  side  of 
the  house  was  a  bench,  —  that  on  the  north  wall  for 
the  members  of  the  family,  with  a  high  or  master's  seat 

8 


I/O  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

in  the  middle,  and  in  front  of  this  the  sacred  pillars  ; 
opposite  was  a  lower  bench  for  guests  or  strangers, 
also  with  a  high  seat  in  the^  middle ;  opposite  the 
main  entrance  was  a  cross-bench  for  the  women ;  in 
front  of  the  benches  were  footstools. 

The  walls  were  generally  panelled,  and  ornamented 
with  carvings,  rude  paintings,  weapons,  and  sometimes 
with  embroidered  hangings.  When  the  skali  was  for 
use  all  the  year-  round,  it  was  furnished  with  beds 
along  the  walls,  behind  the  benches,  so  that  each  per- 
son had  his  bed  behind  his  seat ;  two  or  even  more 
occupied  one  bed.  Sometimes  there  were  alcoves,  or 
small  rooms,  containing  beds,  with  costly  coverings 
and  curtains,  stuffed  with  down,  with  sheets  of  linen 
or  skins  of  the  fox  and  other  animals. 

These  living-rooms,  or  eldaskali,  were  often  of  very 
large  size.  One  in  Iceland  is  said  to  have  been  two 
hundred  feet  long  and  sixty  feet  wide ;  another,  in 
the  same  country,  built  of  Norwegian  timber,  is  de- 
scribed as  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  long,  and  twenty- 
eight  feet  high  and  wide :  the  latter  is  worthy  of 
note,  as  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  timber  from  abroad, 
and  the  impossibility  of  getting  it  at  home,  made  such 
structures  very  costly.  One  is  mentioned  in  the  Vol- 
sung  saga,  of  an  ancient  king  in  Norway,  which  was 
so  built  that  a  large  tree  stood  in  the  middle,  the 
trunk  of  which  went  up  through  the  roof,  above  which 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN,  171 

the  top  extended  on  all  sides.  In  a  skali  at  Haukagil, 
in  the  north  of  Iceland,  toward  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century,  a  brook  ran  through  it.  In  the  "  Landnama- 
bok"  it  is  stated  in  three  places  that  skaiar-w^vQ  built 
right  across  the  road,  so  that  all  travellers  had  to  pass 
through  them,  or  else  make  a  long  circuitous  journey 
to  avoid  them  ;  of  course,  these  were  for  the  purpose 
of  displaying  unbounded  hospitality,  as  food  was 
always  ready  for  the  hungry  wayfarer. 

The  idea  of  this  one  great  room  or  house  probably 
arose  from  their  ancestors,  in  a  more  genial  eastern 
climate,  living  in  tents  like  other  nomadic  nations  ; 
the  great  skali,  in  which  a  large  number  of  persons, 
with  their  domestic  animals,  could  find  shelter,  came 
as  near  as  possible  to  a  tent ;  the  inclemency  of  the 
seasons  thus  did  not  wholly  deprive  them  of  the  free- 
dom of  motion  and  full  supply  of  fresh  air  possible 
only  with  tent  life.  Their  descendants  have  sadly 
degenerated  .from  this  invigorating  mode  of  living, 
the  houses  of  the  modern  Icelander  being  absolutely 
without  pure  air,  very  small  and  crowded,  and  almost 
without  light. 

As  wealth  and  refinement  increased,  detached 
apartments  were  added  to  the  skali,  such  as  work- 
rooms, store-houses,  kitchens,  servants'  quarters, 
bath-houses,  stables,  smithies,  and  council-houses ; 
and,  with  these,  poor  house-keeping,  filth,  darkness. 


1/2  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

and  foul  air.  The  bath-house  was,  in  Iceland,  in  old 
times,  a  very  important  and  much  used  addition, 
altogether  neglected  at  the  present  day  :  the  numerous 
hot  springs  were  used  to  supply  these  bath-houses. 
At  Reykholt  may  still  be  seen  the  remains  of  Snorre 
Sturleson's  bath,  the  water  of  a  hot  spring  being  di- 
verted in  a  stone  channel  into  a  large  basin  cut  out 
of  the  solid  rock,  circular  in  form,  surrounded  by  a 
stone  seat. 

These  old  warriors  also  had  subterranean  or  earth 
houses,  for  retreats  or  protection,  in  those  days  when 
might  made  right,  and  chieftains  took  the  law  into 
their  own  hands  ;  these  communicated  by  secret  pas- 
sages from  one  part  of  a  house  to  another,  or  to  some 
external  place  of  escape  or  concealment. 

The  dress  of  the  men  consisted  of  a  sark  or  shirt 
of  linen  or  wool  next  the  skin,  care  being  taken  to 
prevent  its  being  seen  :  says  the  "  Kongespeil,"  writ- 
ten about  the  twelfth  century,  "  always  have  thy  shirt 
cut  a  good  piece  shorter  than  thy  tunic,  for  no  decent 
man  can  deck  himself  out  in  flax  or  hemp  ; "  a  some- 
what different  style  from  that  of  the  residents  of 
Manila,  who  wear  the  ornamented  shirt  outside  of 
other  garments,  even  in  full  dress.  They  also  wore 
drawers,  breeches,  socks,  and  stockings,  and  shoes  of 
skin  or  leather ;  the  upper  garment  was  a  sleeved 
tunic,  extending  to  the  knees,  with  a  highly  orna- 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  1 73 

merited  belt,  and  fastened  at  the  breast  by  silver 
buckles ;  gloves  or  mittens,  an  outside  cape,  and  a 
hat  or  cap  of  felt,  with  a  broad  brim,  completed  their 
attire.  Almost  all  colors  were  worn,  but  for  the  com- 
mon dress,  black,  gray,  brown,  or  white  were  pre- 
ferred. 

They  were  proud  of  their  long,  auburn,  straight,  silky 
hair,  falling  over  the  neck  and  shoulders,  and  confined 
at  the  forehead  by  bands.  Great  value  was  set  by  the 
old  men  on  a  long  bed^rd  ;  it  is  related  of  Thorgny,  a 
contemporary  of  king  Olaf,  that  his  beard  reached  to 
his  knees  when  he  sat  down,  and  spread  over  his 
whole  chest.  Men  of  rank  always  carried  weapons, 
consisting  of  highly  ornamented  swords,  spears,  axes, 
and  clubs  for  offence,  and  helmets  and  shields  for  de- 
fence. They  also  wore  bracelets  and  rings  of  gold 
and  silver,  necklaces  and  chains,  strings  of  beads  of 
colored  glass,  brooches,  and  buckles. 

The  women's  dress  differed  from  that  of  the  men 
in  having  the  tunic  reach  to  the  feet,  in  the  bodice, 
apron,  collar,  kerchief,  and  longer  outside  cape,  —  all 
more  or  less  ornamented.  Long  light  hair,  white 
skin,  and  delicate  complexion  were  considered  then, 
as  now,  beautiful ;  girls  wore  their  hair  loose,  confined 
only  around  the  forehead  by  bands  of  gold  or  silver ; 
if  unusually  long  and  fine,  the  ends  were  sometimes 
tucked  undOT  the  belt.     Married  women  and  widows 


174  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

wore  a  covering  on  the  head,  that  most  in  use  resem- 
bling the  high,  horn-shaped /^/<3^r  now  worn  in  Iceland 
on  public  occasions,  described  and  figured  in  the  next 
chapter ;  it  was  usually  made  of  white  linen.  They 
wore  the  same  ornaments  as  the  men,  were  fond  of 
show,  and  tried  to  excel  each  other  in  the  splendor  of 
their  adornments. 

The  chiefs  were  surrounded  by  a  large  body  of  free 
retainers,  for  service  in  their  piratical  expeditions  and 
private  quarrels,  or  for  the  mere  love  of  display  ;  these, 
skilled  in  the  use  of  weapons,  fearless,  reckless,  and 
obedient  to  the  master  who  fed  them,  were  always  at 
hand  for  defence  or  offence.  The  various  work  of 
the  household  and  the  fields,  fishing,  hunting,  and 
manufactures,  was  done  by  male  and  female  serfs. 
Their  serfs  or  slaves  were  generally  prisoners  of  war, 
and,  though  having  a  hard  lot,  were  protected  by  the 
laws  against  great  cruelty  on  the  part  of  the  masters. 

Agriculture  and  piracy  divided  the  time  of  the  old 
Norseman  ;  after  sowing  his  seed  in  spring,  he  would 
sail  on  the  spring  viking  expedition,  returning  about 
midsummer,  with  his  booty,  to  get  in  his  crops  ;  then 
he  would  start  again  on  the  autumn  voyage,  returning 
about  the  end  of  November,  and  remaining  quiet  all 
winter,  planning  new  schemes  of  violence  and  rob- 
bery by  land  and  sea.  They  had  vessels  of  consid- 
erable size,  and  their  seaworthiness  is  proved  by  the 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  1/5 

extent  of  their  voyages  over  an  ocean  almost  always 
stormy.  One  is  mentioned  in  King  Olaf's  Saga, — 
the  "  Long  Serpent,"  —  whose  keel  was  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  in  length  ;  it  contained  thirty-four  row- 
ing benches  ;  others  had  forty  and  even  sixty  such 
benches  ;  they  were  ornamented  with  the  heads  of 
serpents  and  dragons,  somewhat  resembling  the 
Roman  galleys.  Though  ignorant  of  the  compass, 
they  had  such  knowledge  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
as  to  be  able  to  accomplish  long  and  dangerous  voy- 
ages. 

Navigation  at  a  very  early  date  was  highly  ad- 
vanced, and  their  exploits  on  the  ocean  —  whether  in 
war,  plunder,  or  maritime  discovery  —  form  the  sub- 
jects of  most  of  the  older  sagas.  To  this  spirit  of 
adventure  was  due  the  discovery  of  Greenland  and 
America  centuries  before  the  time  of  Columbus. 

They  were  also  skilful  horsemen,  —  an  accomplish- 
ment in  which  the  modern  Icelanders,  of  both  sexes, 
excel.  Women  rode,  as  now,  sometimes  astride,  like 
men,  but  oftener  in  the  chair-like  saddles  with  rest 
for  the  feet,  now  in  general  use  in  the  mountainous 
districts  of  Europe. 

Houses  being  rare  and  far  apart,  travellers  had  to 
rely  on  private  hospitality ;  like  the  old  Norseman, 
the  Icelander  of  to-day  prides  himself  on  this  trait. 
No  one  in  need  of  food  and  shelter,  be  he  poor  or 


176  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

rich,  could  be  refused  admittance  without  disgrace  to 
the  person  so  refusing.  In  the  sagas  are  mentioned 
many  instances  of  hospitahty  carried  to  excess,  as  in 
the  following  cases  :  Geirrid,  in  Iceland,  built  her 
skali  across  the  public  road,  and  used  to  sit  in  the 
doorway  and  invite  all  travellers  to  come  in  and  par- 
take of  refreshment  always  ready.  Thorbrand,  also, 
is  said  to  have  built  so  large  a  one  that  all  persons 
passing  through  the  valley  where  he  lived,  could  enter 
it  with  horses  and  pack-saddles,  while  food  was  ready 
for  every  one. 

Sincere  in  friendship,  they  were  equally  so  in 
hatred ;  and  the  sagas  are  full  of  the  results  of  both. 

Among  their  amusements,  various  kinds  of  ban- 
quets stood  first,  the  favorite  one  lasting  several  days, 
and  even  two  or  three  weeks,  attended  by  both  sexes. 
Drinking  was  freely  indulged  in,  with  the  rioting 
and  quarrelling  always  attendant  thereon.  During 
the  intervals  of  the  drinking,  athletic  exercises, 
games,  songs,  and  recitations  from  the  sagas  were 
carried  on.  Several  hundred  persons  often  were 
invited  to  these  extended  banquets  by  the  wealthy ; 
in  one  case,  in  Iceland,  the  sons  of  a  deceased  father 
entertained  no  less  than  twelve  hundred  guests.  The 
cost  of  such  banquets  was  much  increased  by  pre- 
senting each  guest  on  his  departure  a  gift,  sometimes 
of    considerable    value.     Public    subscription   feasts, 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN.  177 

somewhat  like  the  modern  picnic,  were  quite  com- 
mon, and  always  well  attended. 

Athletic  and  military  exercises  were  favorites  with 
the  warlike  Northmen,  who  regarded  an  active  and 
strong  body,  and  skill  in  the  use  of  weapons,  as  of 
primary  importance.  Wrestling,  pulling  ropes  of 
hides  against  each  other,  leaping,  running,  swimming, 
walking  upon  the  blades  of  oars  while  a  boat  was 
rowed  along,  and,  in  general,  such  exercises  as  the 
present  Caledonians  of  Scotland  annually  exhibit  to 
us  ;  the  infusion  of  Norse  blood  into  the  north  of 
Scotland  is  shown  by  the  favorite  national  sports. 
Games  with  swords,  archery,  throwing  spears  and 
stones,  fencing  with  axe,  sword,  or  spear,  with  either 
or  both  hands,  using  a  shield  for  defence,  and  horse- 
racing,  were  also  eagerly  engaged  in. 

Games  of  ball,  of  so  rough  a  character  that  our 
base  ball  is  child's  play  to  them,  dancing  to  songs 
chanted  by  themselves,  and  a  burlesque  on  the  legal 
customs  of  the  country,  were  much  in  vogue  in  Ice- 
land. Something  resembling  the  gladiatorial  shows  of 
ancient  Rome  is  alluded  to  in  authentic  sagas ;  con- 
demned criminals  were  compelled  to  fight  with  each 
other,  or  with  bears,  the  only  formidable  wild  beast 
available  to  them,  being  pardoned  if  victorious.  Hu- 
man sacrifices  were  also  offered  to  their  deities,  the 
back   of    the   victims    being    broken   on   the   sharp 

8*  L 


178  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

"  Stone  of  Thor  "  within  the  sacred  enclosure  of  their 
temples. 

Horse  fights,  playing  with  dice,  and  games  resem- 
bling checkers  and  chess,  served  to  pass  away  the 
idle  hours  of  the  old  Norsemen,  and  keep  them  out  of 
mischief ;  they  were  also  very  fond  of  singing. 

It  was  considered  a  sacred  duty  by  them  to  respect 
the  dead,  and  see  that  they  were  decently  and  speedily 
placed  in  a  stone  vault  covered  with  earth,  or  barrow  ; 
or  burned,  the  ashes  being  collected  in  an  urn.  The 
funeral  feast  was  a  solemn  occasion,  at  which  the  heir 
took  possession  of  the  property  of  the  deceased ;  it 
occurred  from  one  to  four  weeks  after  the  death. 

Though  the  first  settlers  of  Iceland  were  Norwegian 
vikings  or  pirates,  they  soon  lost  their  love  for  such 
predatory  pursuits,  as  plunderable  shores  were  too  far 
away,  and  materials  for  ship-building  could  not  readily 
be  obtained.  This  forced  peacefulness  fortunately  led 
them  to  trading  and  to  voyages  of  discovery,  which 
have  had  a  great  influence  on  the  peoples  of  northern 
Europe,  and  even  of  America.  They  gave  up  their 
habits  of  rapine,  and  became  a  law-abiding  nation, 
with  a  high  sense  of  honor,  and  a  love  for  poetry, 
history,  and  eloquence  unexampled  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  and  a  shining  light  amid  the  surrounding 
darkness. 

According  to  Mr.  Anderson,  "  tire  Norsemen  were 


THE    OLD    NORSEMEN,  1/9 

the  descendants  of  a  branch  of  the  Gothic  race  that, 
in  early  times,  emigrated  from  Asia  and  travelled 
westward  and  northward,  finally  settling  down  in 
what  is  now  the  west  central  part  of  the  kingdom 
of  Norway.  Their  language  was  the  old  Norse, 
which  is  still  preserved  and  spoken  in  Iceland^  and 
upon  it  are  founded  the  modern  Norse,  Danish,  and 
Swedish  languages." 

The  Normans,  who  invaded  the  northern  part  of 
France  in  912,  under  RoUo,  were  of  this  race;  and 
his  great-grandson,  William  the  Conqueror,  in  1066, 
at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  became  the  master  of  Eng- 
land. 

It  is  to  the  Scandinavian,  therefore,  and  not  to  the 
Saxon,  that  Great  Britain  owes  its  love  of  freedom, 
courage,  enterprise,  and  spirit  of  adventure ;  these 
traits  have  been  transplanted  to  America,  and  it  is,  in 
this  sense,  true  that  Thor,  or  the  bold  free  spirit  of 
Scandinavia,  amid  his  icebergs,  rules  the  nations  of 
the  North. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
THE    PEOPLE    OF    ICELAND. 

Influence  of  Climate.  —  Physical  Appearance.  —  Dispositions. 
—  Signs  of  Hospitality.  —  Love  of  Country.  —  Emigration 
TO  America.  —  Population.  —  Occupations.  —  Haying.  — 
Ways  of  Reckoning  Timk  —  Houses.  —  Want  of  Air.  — 
National  Costume.  —  Picturesque  Head-dresses.  —  Orna- 
ments.—  Religion  of  the  Old  Norsemen.  —  Introduction 
OF  Christianity.  —  Social  Relations.  —  Oriental  Charac- 
teristics:—  Decline  of  Romanism,  and  Acceptance  of 
Doctrines  of  Luther.  —  Iceland  Parishes.  —  Theology 
Contradicted  by  Science.  —  Depressing  Influences  acting 
on  the  People. 

"  World-old  Iceland,  beloved  foster-land,  thou  wilt  be  loved  by 
thy  sons  as  long  as  the  ocean  girds  the  lands,  men  love  women,  and 
the  sun  shines  on  the  mountains." 

'T^HOUGH  we  might  expect  in  Iceland  the  equable 
mildness  of  an  insular  climate,  from  its  situation 
in  the  temperate  zone  and  the  influence  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  the  sea  breezes  are  apt  to  drift  the  ice  against 
the  north  shore,  and  produce  a  cold  sometimes  ap- 
proaching that  of  the  arctic  circle.  The  summer  and 
winter  follow  each  other  so  closely  that  spring  and 
autumn  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist  there,  —  summer 
beginning  about  the  last  of  June,  and  winter  about 
the  last  of  October.     It  is  colder  in  the  interior  than 


THE    PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  l8l 

on  the  coast.  Changes  are  very  sudden  and  very 
great,  and  the  violent  gales  are  more  destructive  than 
the  cold  ;  a  strong  wind  blows  almost  all  the  time,  or 
the  island  would  be  covered  with  a  thick  ocean  fog. 
Rains  are  very  frequent,  and  the  traveller  must  have 
at  hand  his  water-proof  clothing  ;  thunder  is  very  un- 
common. 

From  the  names  Snaeland  and  Iceland,  it  is  evident 
'  that  the  first  settlers  found  the  island  with  very  nearly 
the  same  northern  climatic  character  as  now.  With 
such  a  climate  we  should  not  expect  to  find  any  great 
variety  of  plant  or  animal  life  ;  and  even  man  has  not 
been  able  entirely  to  resist  its  deteriorating  influ- 
ence ;  his  modes  of  life,  food,  houses,  dress,  and  em- 
ployments must  conform  to  the  inhospitable  nature  of 
the  country. 

The  corn-golden  hair  and  the  azure  blue  eyes  of  the 
old  sagas  are  still  the  prevailing  type,  and  pink  and 
white  the  natural  colors  of  the  female  cheeks  ;  though 
I  saw  many  pleasing  faces,  I  met  with  none  that  I 
could  call  handsome.  The  old  Scandinavian  type  is 
more  manifest  in  the  men,  but  their  former  fair  pro- 
portions and  physical  strength  are  impaired  by  their 
poor  food,  especially  during  youth :  the  farmers  seemed 
strongly  built,  with  long  waists  and  short  legs  ;  their 
bronzed  countenances  had  a  dignified  but  good-natured 
expression,  with  a  dreamy  serious  look,  in  part  due  to 


1 82  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  very  prominent  eye-balls.  The  women  in  the 
country  are  pale  and  sallow,  from  the  fogs  and  the 
absence  of  sun-light  in  their  houses  and  during 
the  long  dark  winters  ;  the  same  is  true  of  all  arctic 
races  of  man,  beast,  and  flower ;  the  sun  brings  out 
color.  According  to  Sir  Henry  Holland,  the  stature 
of  the  Icelander  is  tall,  from  a  greater  length  of  spine  ; 
the  legs  are  short,  a  fact  which  might  be  Darwinicaliy 
explained  by  necessity,  in  order  to  avoid  hitting  their 
feet  and  wrenching  their  knees  by  striking  against  the 
sides  of  the  narrow,  deep,  rut-like  paths  in  which  they 
travel  on  horseback ;  in  order  to  save  them  the  trouble 
of  incessantly  raising  their  legs,  natural  selection  has 
kindly  shortened  them ;  the  short-legged  Icelander 
has  the  best  chance  in  the  struggle  for  life.  The 
hair  is  thick,  and  in  the  women  usually  arranged  in 
graceful  plaits,  which  are  organically  and  not  hairpin- 
ically  connected  with  the  wearer's  head;  their  teeth 
are  fortunately  sound  and  white,  as  the  dental  profes- 
sion is  unknown  in  Iceland. 

From  their  melancholy  surroundings,  the  country 
people  seem  quiet,  indifferent,  almost  Indian-like  in 
their  stoical  dispositions,  patient  under  misery  and 
privation,  firm  and  energetic  in  danger  ;  grave  even 
in  their  pleasures,  they  resemble  their  native  land, 
where  the  most  destructive  fires  lie  concealed  under 
the   apparent   calmness    of    the   ice-clad   mountains. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  1 83 

With  little  to  encourage  them  in  the  present,  they 
live  upon  the  glories  of  the  past,  and  seem  like  a 
people  of  the  twelfth  century ;  though  to  strangers 
they  appear  sullen  and  indifferent,  on  better  acquaint- 
ance they  will  be  found  frank,  honest,  and  hospitable, 
the  latter  under  circumstances  requiring  great  self- 
denial.  As  a  traveller  ordinarily  reaches  his  journey's 
end  at  night,  wet  from  his  knees  down  from  fording 
the  numerous  rivers,  it  is  considered  a  mark  of  true 
hospitality  to  help  him  off  with  his  under-garments 
on  his  retiring  to  bed  ;  this  office  it  was  the  custom 
of  the  women  to  perform,  though  it  has  now  nearly 
grown  out  of  practice.  Mr.  Henderson,  in  his  travels 
in  Iceland  for  the  distribution  of  bibles,  was  much 
troubled  by  this  custom,  and  his  work  gives  the  in- 
genious ways  in  which  the  modest  missionary  over- 
came his  scruples  in  this  direction  without  offending 
his  hostess.  Kissing  is  also  very  common,  as  a  token 
of  thanks,  of  salutation  at  parting,  and  in  various  in- 
nocent ways,  at  first  overpowering  to  the  modest  trav- 
eller ;  but  he  soon  gets  used  to  it,  and  it  becomes  a 
natural  and  a  semi-religious  ceremony,  like  those 
nowadays  performed,  in  private  and  in  public,  in  a 
sister  State. 

The  emptiness  of  the  jail  at  Reykjavik  speaks  well 
for  their  good  behavior  as  citizens ;  they  are  too 
phlegmatic  and  indolent  to  be  great  criminals,  and 


1 84  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

the  peace  which  goes  with  poverty  and  contentment 
is  theirs.  They  cannot  appreciate  a  joke,  or  play 
upon  words. 

Intemperance  is  said  to  be  their  besetting  vice  ; 
but  I  saw  very  little  of  it,  at  a  time  when  such  indul- 
gence would  be  excusable.  Their  alleged  indisposi- 
tion to  work  is  not  surprising,  as  they  have  had  till 
recently  no  motive  nor  stimulus  to  labor ;  now,  when 
their  profitable  industry  can  benefit  themselves,  in- 
stead of  Denmark,  there  will  probably  be  a  great  and 
sudden  change  in  this  respect. 

Though  they  have  apparently  a  hard  lot  at  home, 
they  are  very  fond  of  their  native  land ;  in  a  few 
instances  some  have  left,  impelled  by  desire  for  fame 
or  riches,  and  quite  a  colony  a  few  years  ago  emi- 
grated to  Wisconsin  ;  but  they  found  the  yearly  tran- 
sition from  severe  cold  to  excessive  heat  unsuited  to 
them  ;  and  they  have  accordingly  recently  taken  steps 
to  examine  one  of  the  Aleutian  islands,  near  the  coast 
of  Alaska,  where  the  climate  and  the  products  of  the 
sea  are  much  like  those  at  home.  From  recently 
published  reports,  we  know  the  constitution  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Wisconsin  colony  to  ex- 
amine the  Alaskan  islands.  This  consists  of  Jon 
Olafsson,  a  young  radical  political  journalist ;  Olaf 
Olafsson,  a  mechanic,  remarkable  for  his  knowledge  of 
languages,  obtained  in  his  humble  cottage  ;  and  Mr. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND,  1 85 

Bjornson,  a  sturdy,  independent  farmer.  Should  their 
report  be  favorable,  a  great  objection  would  be  the 
expense  of  removal  to  the  Pacific  coast  ;  it  is  hoped 
that  the  United  States  Government  will  transport 
them,  and  any  others  that  may  be  induced  to  come ; 
which  it  could  well  afford  to  do  in  order  to  secure 
such  an  industrious  and  orderly  settlement,  which 
alone  can  properly  develop  the  rich  resources  of 
Alaska.  The  Icelanders  sleep  in  the  mid-day  sum- 
mer heat,  and  work  in  the  long  light  nights  ;  this 
they  cannot  do  in  the  long  hot  summer  and  short 
dark  nights  of  Wisconsin ;  and  they  accordingly  wish 
to  examine  our  American  Iceland,  the  coast  of  north- 
ern Alaska.  This  plan  is  now  virtually  abandoned, 
and  the  settlement  will  probably  be  in  the  Red  River 
country  (see  a  future  chapter).  It  was  reported  last 
summer  that,  after  their  millennial  celebration,  large 
numbers  would  emigrate  to  America  ;  but  no  such 
intention  was  expressed  in  the  parts  we  visited,  and, 
from  the  disgrace  which  among  them  attaches  to  those 
who  desert  their  fatherland,  it  is  not  likely  that  these 
United  States  will  at  present  be  so  fortunate  as  to  ob- 
tain several  thousand  of  such  hardy,  intelligent,  and 
Protestant  colonists.  Of  the  Icelanders  may  be  said 
what  Robert  Falconer  says  of  the  Laplanders  :  "  They 
live  in  a  climate,  as  it  were,  which  is  their  own,  by 
natural  law  comply  with  it,  and  find  it  not  altogether 


1 86  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

unfriendly.  They  will  prefer  their  wastes  to  the  rich 
fields  of  England,  not  merely  from  ignorance,  but  for 
the  sake  of  certain  blessings,  among  which  they  have 
been  born  and  brought  up.  The  blessedness  of  life 
depends  far  more  on  its  interest  than  upon  its  com- 
fort." 

Estimating  the  population  of  the  island  at  sixty 
thousand,  which  it  has  rarely  exceeded,  there  would 
be  only  one  and  a  quarter  people  to  a  square  mile,  or, 
excluding  the  central  deserts,  about  seven,  or  one- 
third  of  the  number  in  the  most  thinly  inhabited 
of  the  Highland  counties  of  Scotland.  Large  num- 
bers have  been  swept  away  by  pestilence  and  famine, 

—  causes  hereafter  probably  inoperative  ;  pulmonary 
and  rheumatic  diseases  from  exposure,  leprosy  and 
affections  of  the  skin  from  improper  food  and  unclean- 
liness  in  adults,  and  foul  air  and  dampness  in  chil- 
dren, destroy  many,  or  render  them  puny  and  diseased 
during  life. 

Their  food  consists  largely  of  fish,  of  the  cod  family, 
dried  in  open  sheds,  and  not  salted.   Nothing  is  wasted, 

—  the  heads  are  cut  off  and  dried,  and  are  esteemed  as 
food  ;  the  oil  is  extracted  from  the  livers ;  even  the 
bones  are  used  as  fuel,  or,  boiled  till  they  are  soft, 
given  to  the  cattle  for  food.  Beside  fishing,  other 
occupations  are  the  cutting  and  preparation  of  turf 
for  fuel,  and  the  making  of  hay,  the  grass  being  cut 


THE    PEOPLE    OF   ICELAND.  1 8/ 

by  a  scythe  about  two  feet  long  and  two  inches  wide, 
the  women  turning  it  and  making  it  into  heaps. 
Some  travellers  have  supposed  that  the  tussocks  or 
hillocks  upon  which  the  grass  grows,  requiring  such 
short  scythes,  were  made  artificially,  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  superficial  area  and  increase  the  crop ;  but 
these,  and  similar  longitudinal  ridges,  as  regular  as 
furrows,  everywhere  seen  on  the  desert  lava  plains, 
are  caused  by  the  action  of  frost  and  the  melting  of 
the  snow  and  ice  in  spring.  They  might,  however, 
very  largely  and  easily  increase  the  area  of  their  grass 
lands  by  draining  the  bogs,  which  are  such  impedi- 
ments to  travelling ;  this  is  one  of  the  directions  in 
which  their  enterprise  under  the  new  constitution 
may  be  profitably  directed,  and  with  immediate  ad- 
vantage to  the  farmers. 

After  this  harvest  comes  the  collection  of  the  sheep 
from  the  summer  fields  for  winter  protection  and  feed- 
ing ;  instead  of  shearing,  they  pull  off  the  wool,  or 
even  allow  it  to  fall  off  spontaneously  ;  the  first  might 
seem  a  cruel  process,  but  it  is  not  so,  as  the  wool  re- 
mains till  it  is  loose,  and  the  long  coarse  hair,  the 
chief  protection  from  the  cold  rains,  is  thus  pre- 
served. 

The  days  of  the  week  are  not  like  ours,  with  the 
exception  of  Sunday  and  Monday ;  the  other  names 
were  changed  by  a  Romish  bishop,  because  he  thought 


1 88  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

they  were  too  suggestive  of  heathenism,  recalling  Tir 
the  northern  Mars,  Odin,  Thor,  Frigg,  and  Saturn. 
The  Iceland  names  correspond  to  third  day,  mid-week 
day  (German  Mittwoche),  and  fast  day,  Saturday  being 
washing  day,  as  it  was  the  universal  custom  to  take  a 
bath  on  that  day.  Time  is  not  reckoned  by  the  hour 
of  the  day,  clocks  and  watches  in  many  places  being 
unknown ;  but  the  day  is  divided,  according  to  the 
position  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  into  eight  periods 
of  three  hours  each,  called  respectively,  beginning  at 
9  A.M.,  which  is  day,  noon,  evening,  mid-evening, 
night,  midnight,  morning,  and  mid-morning,  the  last 
being  6  a.m.,  at  which  they  generally  rise ;  they  re- 
main up  till  late  in  the  evening,  a  custom  due  to  the 
light  nights. 

They  have  an  ingenious  way  of  ascertaining  whether 
a  month  has  thirty  or  thirty-one  days  :  shut  the  fist ; 
let  the  first  knuckle  represent  January,  with  thirty- 
one  days,  and  the  depression  between  that  and  the 
next,  February,  with  its  lesser  number ;  thus  every 
month  which  corresponds  to  a  knuckle  will  have 
thirty-one  days,  and  every  one  corresponding  to  a 
depression  thirty  days  or  less  ;  the  little-finger  knuckle 
represents  July,  and,  beginning  again  with  the  fore- 
finger, that  knuckle  stands  for  August,  and  so  to 
December.  This  is  taken  from  Bishop  Arneson's 
finger  rhymes  for  calculating  time. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  ,189 

In  midsummer  the  women  make  up  parties  to  go 
into  the  borders  of  the  interior  desert  in  search  of 
the  Iceland  moss,  a  nutritious  lichen  used  as  food, 
and  by  other  nations  as  a  demulcent  in  pulmonary 
diseases  ;  taking  their  tents  and  provisions,  and  men 
enough  to  protect  them  from  the  robbers  believed  to 
inhabit  these  regions,  it  amounts  to  a  sort  of  picnic, 
of  several  weeks'  duration,  and  is  looked  forward  to 
as  the  great  excursion  of  the  year. 

The  old  Norsemen  brought  with  them  from  Nor- 
way a  style  of  architecture  in  some  respects  well 
adapted  to  a  cold  climate.  Each  apartment  formed  a 
house  by  itself,  with  its  small  closets,  narrow  pas- 
sages, and  a  loft ;  and  many  of  these  houses,  placed 
close  together,  constituted  a  dwelling.  There  being 
no  native  timber  in  Iceland,  their  dwellings  were 
made  of  lava,  earth,  and  turf ;  the  floor  of  stone  or 
firmly  beaten  earth  ;  in  the  centre,  or  in  one  corner, 
was  a  stone  fire-place,  the  smoke,  when  it  went  out  at 
all,  passing  through  a  hole  in  the  roof,  covering  all 
the  upper  part  of  the  room  with  soot ;  this  opening 
also  served  to  let  in  light,  in  the  absence  of  windows, 
which  would  let  in  the  cold. 

The  modern  Icelanders  have  not  much  improved  on 
the  old  type,  as  a  house  now  consists  of  a  conglom- 
eration of  small  buildings,  in  all  some  fifty  feet  long 
and  twenty-five  or  thirty  deep.     The  dwelling-house 


190,  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

proper  is  in  the  centre,  flanked  on  each  side  by  cow- 
sheds, smithy,  and  the  various  outhouses ;  the  turf 
and  lava  walls  two  to  three  feet  thick  ;  the  gable-roof 
is  boarded,  covered  by  a  thick  layer  of  grassy  turf, 
and  surmounted  by  a  weather-cock.  The  entrance 
of  such  farm-houses  as  we  saw  in  the  interior  (the 
city  houses  being  modern  in  style  and  conveniences) 
was  by  a  long,  dark,  narrow,  ill-ventilated  passage, 
with  stone  floor,  uneven,  muddy,  and  wet,  rough  sides, 
and  so  low  that  you  bump  your  head  at  every  step 
until  you  learn  to  bend  your  body  almost  double; 
this  leads  through  the  house  to  the  kitchen,  where 
the  fire  of  peat  or  dung  or  bones  or  wood  is  kept  up  ; 
this  is  the  only  fire  in  the  house,  no  matter  how  cold 
the  weather  may  be,  and  you  can  imagine  that  the 
atmosphere  from  fuel  and  occupants  is  not  of  the 
purest ;  and,  in  fact,  to  our  senses  quite  unendurable. 
Fortunately,  their  sense  of  smell  is  deadened  by  the 
national  habit  of  snuff-taking ;  whether  the  women 
indulge  in  this  I  cannot  say,  but  it  is  probable  that 
with  age  femininity  loses  its  characteristic  love  of 
good  looks  with  them,  as  with  us,  and  that  certain 
masculine  habits,  in  the  direction  of  tobacco,  are 
allowed  to  disfigure  the  female  countenance,  which 
then  assumes  that  of  man.  The  irregular  dwelling- 
rooms  open  on  each  side,  in  which  scythes  and  sad- 
dles, cod's  heads  and  cradles,  nets  and  spinning-wheels. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF   ICELAND.  191 

wet  clothes  and  musty  meat,  and  the  innumerable 
articles  of  house-keeping,  husbandry,  and  clothing, 
are  mingled  on  floor  and  wall  in  dire  confusion ;  in 
fact,  a  tidy  housekeeper  would  go  crazy  here  in  half 
an  hour.  Downstairs,  and  in  the  lofts,  are  ranges  of 
boxes  or  bunks,  separated  only  by  a  head-board,  filled 
with  feathers,  sea-weed,  or  hay,  and  covered  with  old 
clothes,  worn  blankets,  and  musty  skins.  A  whole 
family  usually  sleep  in  one  room,  for  warmth,  and 
two  or  three  in  a  bunk  is  the  common  order  of  things 
in  a  large  family.  No  air  can  get  in  unless  through 
cracks  in  walls,  doors,  and  windows,  and  the  idea  of 
the  necessity,  or  even  the  desirability,  of  fresh  air 
never  enters  their  heads.  One  may  well  believe  the 
assurances  of  travellers  that  their  poorer  houses  and 
their  persons  are  infested  with  vermin  ;  as  we  slept 
on  the  ground,  away  from  all  houses,  under  our  tent, 
we  were  entirely  free  from  these  annoyances  ;  we 
did  not  even  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  a  church,  whose 
sacred  precincts  these  degraded  dipterous  insects  do 
not  scruple  to  enter  and  occupy.  Sometimes  open- 
ings are  found  in  these  close  rooms,  carefully  closed 
by  corks,  which  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  a  suffo- 
cating traveller  are  removed  for  a  minute  or  two,  and 
closed  as  soon  as  the  cold  air  is  felt.  Though  their 
houses  were  rudely  furnished,  and  not  overclean,  they 
were   totally   unlike    the   uncomfortable   cabins   and 


192  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

shanties  of  our  poorer  classes  in  and  near  large 
cities  ;  there  were  no  signs  of  destitution,  and,  though 
homely,  they  were  sufficient  for  their  simple  wants. 

A  national  costume  is  worn  only  by  the  women, 
who  always  adhere  to  old  customs  longer  than  men, 
being  naturally  more  conservative.  The  men  dress 
very  much  like  laboring  and  seafaring  men  in  the 
northern  ports  of  Europe ;  their  clothes  being  made 
of  homespun  wool,  thick  and  serviceable ;  the  shoes 
are  made  of  skin,  which  is  easily  wet  through,  giving 
a  dirty  appearance  and  bad  odor,  and  from  their  cold 
dampness  must  be  very  unhealthy.  As  there  are,  it 
is  said,  very  few  shoemakers  in  Iceland,  and  no  tailor, 
those  who  do  not  dress  in  the  costume  of  the  country, 
must  import  their  clothes  and  shoes; 

The  every-day  dress  of  the  women  is  simple,  neat, 
well-fitting,  with  long  sleeves  and  apron,  warm  and 
serviceable,  and  of  woollen  material.  On  ordinary 
occasions  all  dress  alike,  so  that  it  is  not  easy  to  tell 
the  class  in  society  to  which  an  Icelandic  woman  be- 
longs ;  in  high  life  and  in  ceremonious  calls,  Paris 
styles  are  followed  here  as  everywhere.  The  every- 
day head-dress  is  the  htifa^  a  coquettish,  flat  disk  of 
black  woollen  cloth,  like  that  worn  by  the  Greek 
women,  fastened  on  the  top  of  the  head  by  pins, 
having  a  long  tassel  of  black  silk,  ornamented  with 
silver  or  gold,  falling  over  one  ear ;  this  is  worn  by 


THE    PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND,  1 93 

young  and  old,  married  and  single,  and  is  very  be- 
coming. On  any  national  or  public  festival,  the 
women  adopt  the  picturesque  costume  so  well  seen 
during  the  visit  of  the  king.  The  most  character- 
istic feature  is  a  kind  of  helmet  {faldr),  a  high, 
white  muslin,  or  fine  linen  head-dress,  fitting  closely 
on  the  forehead,  and  loosely  behind,  about  a  foot 
high,  and  gracefully  curving  forward  ;  the  edge  is 
embroidered  with  gold  cord  and  stars,  the  top  envel- 
oped in  a  veil  of  white  tulle,  worn  very  artistically, 
and  hanging  far  down  the  back. 

The  close-fitting  bodice,  usually  of  dark  cloth,  is 
richly  embroidered,  with  gold  and  silver  leaves  around 
the  neck,  in  front  and  on  the  edges,  and  laced  with 
silver  chains ;  the  shoulders,  sleeves,  and  wrists  are 
similarly  ornamented.  They  wear  beside  elaborately 
worked  jointed  silver  belts,  filigree  buttons,  large 
hooks  and  eyes,  and  immense  brooches  and  bunches 
of  ornaments,  of  strange  patterns,  made  upon  the 
island ;  they  are  sometimes  inlaid  with  precious 
stones,  are  generally  heirlooms  in  the  family,  and 
indicate  the  position  and  wealth  of  the  wearer. 

The  early  history  of  Iceland,  according  to  the  Irish 
monk  Dicuilus,  who  wrote  a  geography  in  825,  would 
comprise  the  introduction  of  Christianity  by  priests 
of  that  nation  in  795  ;  and  some  names  and  a  few 
relics  found  go  to  show  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
9  M 


194  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

But,  whatever  progress  the  Romish  religion  had  made 
among  the  Celtic  people  who  had  colonized  Iceland  at 
that  remote  age,  the  advent  of  the  Norsemen  in  the 
next  century  utterly  obliterated  it  and  its  believers, 
and  the  Scandinavian  deities  held  sway  over  the 
minds  of  the  new  settlers  till  the  reintroduction  of 
the  same  form  of  theology  toward  the  close  of  the 
tenth  century  was  inaugurated  by  the  efforts  of  king 
Olaf. 

The  introduction  of  Christianity  in  the  year  looo 
at  Thingvalla  has  been  alluded  to  in  a  former  chapter  ; 
the  heathen  party  were  conciliated  by  permission  to 
continue  to  expose  their  children,  eat  horse-flesh,  and 
worship  the  old  gods  in  private  ;  the  northern  and 
eastern  people  refusing  to  be  baptized  in  cold  water, 
were  afterward  admitted  to  the  church  at  more  com- 
fortable warm  springs.  Their  improved  knowledge 
and  increasing  disbelief  in  the  old  deities  had  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  new  religion,  which  required 
only  toleration  to  obtain  an  easy  victory  over  the  old 
one ;  from  this  time,  with  the  abolition  of  the  super- 
stitions and  customs  of  the  worship  of  Odin  and  Thor, 
began  a  new  era  for  Iceland,  during  which,  for  more 
than  three  centuries,  and  until  the  loss  of  their  inde-' 
pendence,  it  attained  its  highest  intellectual  and  polit- 
ical development,  —  its  golden  age. 

Like  other  Scandinavian  nations,  they  at  first  be- 


THE   PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  195 

lieved  in  the  simple  but  grand  doctrines  of  one  good 
and  supreme  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a 
future  state  of  retribution  according  to  the  eternal 
laws  of  morality  and  justice;  but,  as  in  subsequent 
systems  of  theology,  human  weakness,  passions,  and 
priestcraft  disguised  these  simple  truths  under  a  com- 
plicated and  doctrinal  covering  of  mythology,  deifying 
some  of  the  powers  of  nature,  both  good  and  evil, 
and  thus  so  alienating  and  disgusting  the  minds  of 
its  votaries,  that  they  were  ready  for  any  change 
which  promised  greater  freedom  of  thought  and 
action.  Thus  was  the  way  prepared  for  a  Romish 
system,  which,  for  the  same  reasons,  a  few  centuries 
later,  gave  place  to  Protestantism ;  and,  from  the 
signs  of  the  times,  it  would  now  appear  that  this  last, 
overgrown  by  the  same  deforming  excrescences,  is 
called  upon  by  protesters  within  its  ranks  to  cleanse 
itself  from  the  rust  of  ages,  and  to  return  to  the  sim- 
plicity and  purity  of  its  founders.  We  can  no  more 
conceive  how  strong  minds  could  receive  as  truths 
the  absurdities  of  the  tenth  century,  than  we  can  now 
reconcile  with  the  intelligence  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury certain  Romish  and  Protestant  dogmas  which 
command  an  unthinking  or  an  interested  assent. 

Though  colonized  by  Norwegian  vikings,  Iceland, 
from  its  isolated  situation,  did  not  continue  a  nation 
of  robbers,  but  was  soon  the  country  of  law-abiding 


196  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

citizens,  lovers  of  justice  and  honor,  peaceful  discover- 
ers and  traders,  and  cultivators  of  poetry,  history, 
and  eloquence.  Their  refined  civilization  was  indi- 
cated by  the  respect  paid  to  woman  and  her  kind 
treatment ;  though  prisoners  of  war  were  treated  as 
slaves,  polygamy  was  very  rare.  Poverty,  resulting 
from  idleness  or  crime,  was  punished  as  a  political 
offence,  by  deprivation,  in  case  of  parents,  of  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  and  of  children,  of  the  rights  of 
inheritance  ;  this  was  rendered  necessary  in  a  country 
where  the  means  of  subsistence  were  so  scanty. 
When  poverty  was  the  result  of  misfortune,  disease, 
or  old  age,  each  parish,  or  the  relatives,  were  obliged 
to  make  provision  for  relief. 

Christianity  softened  the  rude  manners  of  the 
people,  and  by  degrees  the  ordeal  by  single  combat 
gave  way  to  law  and  justice,  the  exposure  of  children 
ceased,  and  the  eating  of  horse-flesh,  brought  from 
the  East  and  a  part  of  the  religion  of  Odin,  was  gen- 
erally abandoned. 

Authors  have  alluded  to  their  probable  descent 
from  oriental  forefathers,  and  are  constantly  reminded 
in  Iceland  of  the  East ;  the  people  from  the  earliest 
period  were  dwellers  in  tents,  and  their  government 
was  patriarchal ;  like  Arabs,  they  regard  as  sacred  the 
rites  of  hospitality;  their  long  caravans  of  horses, 
crossing  the  deserts,  salute  each  other  with  a  courtesy 


THE   PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  197 

peculiar  to  the  worshippers  of  the  sun.  Other  orien- 
tal characters  are  their  fondness  for  the  horse  and 
their  aversion  to  walking ;  the  use  of  milk  curds  as 
food  for  themselves,  and  of  dried  fish  for  their  cattle, 
and  of  dried  dung  for  fuel ;  and  especially  their  love 
of  listening  to  stories  of  the  exploits  of  their  ances- 
tors. It  is  remarkable  to  trace  these  evidences  of 
distant  wanderings  in  such  different  climes.  In  the 
twelfth  century  monks  and  convents  were  numerous, 
and  the  country  contributed  its  share  of  men  and 
money  to  carry  on  the  Crusades  and  other  projects  of 
the  papacy. 

As  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  many  of  the  Romish  clergy  were  a  disgrace 
to  their  profession,  and  the  purity  of  their  religion 
had  degenerated  into  those  outward  rites,  heartless 
observances,  and  dogmatic  articles  of  faith,  which, 
taking  the  place  of  morality,  show  that  a  system  of 
theology  has  reached  its  period  of  decay,  when  return- 
ing reason  and  increased  intelligence  demand  a  ref- 
ormation. The  doctrines  of  Luther  between  1540  and 
1552  were  generally  adopted  in  Iceland,  under  king 
Christian  Third  of  Denmark,  and  in  1558  the  last  trace 
of  popery  was  abolished  by  the  suppression  of  the 
monasteries,  of  which  there  were  nine  on  the  island ; 
they  have  remained  strict  Lutherans  ever  since,  with 
the  advance  in  morals,  civilization,  and  freedom,  which 


193  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

accompanied  this  change  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 
Many  relics  of  the  Romish  faith  are  still  to  be  found 
in  the  island.  The  Vatican,  however,  was  so  far  off, 
that  the  Icelandic  priests  did  not  hear  the  pontifical 
thunder ;  and  so  far  obeyed  the  laws  of  nature  and 
common  sense,  repressed  by  this  church  nominally  in 
this  direction,  as  to  marry  like  other  people ;  in  some 
other  respects  they  were  very  independent. 

There  are  about  ninety  parishes  in  Iceland,  whose 
pastors  receive  what  to  our  clergymen  would  be 
considered  a  ridiculously  small  salary,  from  ;^i50  to 
^200  a  year,  eked  out  by  the  hard-earned  but  willing 
contributions  of  their  small  flocks.  It  is  difficult  to 
persuade  one's  self  that  the  fashionable  frequenters 
of  the  luxurious  temples  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  and 
the  "  Back  Bay "  are  worshippers  of  the  same  lowly 
Jesus  as  the  humble  Lutherans  in  the  plain  box-like 
churches  of  Iceland ;  or  that  the  occupants  of  such 
different  pulpits  are  laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
same  Lord. 

Going  to  church  is  for  the  Icelanders  almost  their 
only  opportunity  for  social  intercourse ;  before  and 
after  the  services  occur  those  little  interchanges  of 
kind  words  and  good-will,  which  the  paucity  and  scat- 
tered positions  of  the  population  would  otherwise  ren- 
der impossible. 

To  show  the  absurdity  of  making  religion  in  any 


THE   PEOPLE    OF  ICELAND.  1 99 

way  consist  of  what  one  eats  and  drinks,  or  of  labor- 
ing in  the  obtaining  and  preparing  of  the  food  of 
nations,  an  industry  of  Iceland,  and  certain  facts  in 
natural  history,  may  here  be  mentioned. 

A  principal  occupation  of  the  Lutheran  Iceland- 
ers is  fishing  for  cod  and  allied  species,  which  they 
prepare  and  export  chiefly  for  the  markets  of  the 
Catholic  countries  of  southern  Europe,  one  of  whose 
sacred  duties,  by  authority  of  an  infallible  head  of 
their  church,  is  to  abstain  from  meat  on  Fridays ; 
French  and  other  fishermen  do  the  same  ;  to  this 
Romish  custom,  which  the  people  of  the  north  disbe- 
lieve in,  much  of  their  prosperity  is  due.  The  smaller 
whales,  dolphins,  and  porpoises  are  also  hunted  in 
these  waters,  and  their  flesh  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose ;  papal  infallibity  has  for  centuries  declared  that 
the  last-named  creatures  are  fish,  and  may  therefore 
be  eaten,  when  meat  is  forbidden,  and  a  deadly  sin 
thus  escaped  ;  what  a  shock  it  must  have  been  to  the 
chief  priests  when  natural  history  proved  that  ceta- 
ceans, or  whale-like  animals,  though  living  in  the 
water  and  shaped  for  rapid  progression  in  it,  are  true 
warm-blooded  mammals,  breathing  air  by  lungs  and 
not  by  gills,  bringing  forth  their  single  young  alive 
and  nourishing  them  with  milk,  in  no  way  resembling 
the  cold-blooded,  scaly  fish,  except  in  shape  and  the 
element  they  live  in.     Whatever  the  amount  of  sin 


200  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

there  may  be  (and  all  Protestants  and  some  Catholics 
think  there  is  none)  in  eating  meat  on  prohibited 
days,  is  equally  incurred  by  the  partakers  of  the  fish- 
like cetaceans  ;  the  flesh  of  the  latter,  which  in  theo- 
logic  ignorance  is  permitted,  is  just  as  much  meat 
as  beef,  pork,  or  mutton.  Such  religion  as  that  may 
well  dread  the  dissemination  of  knowledge,  and  insist 
upon  denominational  schools  in  which  the  wax  of  the 
youthful  mind  may  be  made  to  assume  the  never- 
changing  form  of  sectarian  bigotry. 

When  we  consider  the  inclemency  of  the  climate 
of  Iceland,  the  scanty  means  of  subsistence,  the  rav- 
ages of  ice,  fire,  and  water  which  they  have  to  con- 
tend with,  in  addition  to  the  terrible  epidemics  to 
which  they  have  many  times  been  subjected,  with 
their  chronic  and  till  recently  almost  hopeless  politi- 
cal and  commercial  depression,  it  seems  very  remark- 
able that  the  Icelanders  should  be  the  hospitable, 
disinterested,  honest,  liberty-loving  people  which  the 
testimony  of  all  travellers  among  them  uniformly 
asserts. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
POLITICAL    HISTORY    OF    ICELAND. 

Peculiar  History.  —  British  and  Norwegian  Settlers.  — 
Naddodr  and  Gardar.  —  Floki,  of  the  Ravens.  —  Ingolf 
AND  Leif,  a.d.  874.  —  Norwegian  Exodus.  —  Republic  of 
Iceland.  —  Magistrates  and  their  Duties.  —  Intrigues  of 
Norway,  and  Downfall  of  the  Republic.  —  Decline  of 
the  People.  —  Later  History.  —  Revolutionary  Disturb- 
ances.—  Governors  of  Iceland. 

"  What  should  we  do,  but  sing  his  praise, 
That  led  us  through  the  watery  maze 
Unto  an  isle  so  long  unknown, 
And  yet  far  kinder  than  our  own, 
To  land  us  on  a  grassy  stage, 
Safe  from  the  storm  and  tyrants'  rage  ?  " 

nPHE  political,  literary,  and  religious  history  of 
Iceland  are  so  interwoven  that  it  is  difficult  to 
treat  of  them  in  separate  chapters  ;  but,  at  the  risk  of 
slight  repetition,  I  shall  endeavor  in  this  to  confine 
myself  to  the  first,  reserving  for  the  next  a  brief  ac- 
count of  the  maritime  discoveries  which  connect 
America  with  the  Old  World. 

We  should  not  expect  to  find  on  a  lonely  island  in 
the  Northern  Ocean  —  a  land  with  little  agricultural 
or  mineral  wealth,  with  a  bleak  climate,  and  apparently 
9* 


202  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

almost  uninhabitable  —  such  a  history  as  that  of  Ice- 
land, interesting  in  a  moral,  historical,  political,  and  eth- 
nological point  of  view.  We  see  man  here  struggling 
for  existence  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances, 
and  yet  early  developing  a  literature,  civilization,  and 
religion,  and  cultivating  the  principles  of  liberty  and 
self-government,  when  more  favored  nations  were  in 
their  days  of  darkest  ignorance  and  superstition. 

The  generally  received  opinion  that  the  first,  or  at 
least  the  principal,  actual  colonization  of  Iceland  was 
by  Norwegian  refugees  in  the  ninth  century  has  been 
denied  by  good  authority.  Ireland  and  the  British 
Isles  sent  many  colonists  to  the  Shetlands,  Faroes, 
and  Iceland  long  before  the  time  of  Harald  the  Fair- 
haired  ;  at  that  time  and  afterward  many  such  colo- 
nists arrived,  according  to  their  own  "  Landnamabok," 
who  were  Christians,  and  called  "  Papas,"  supposed  to 
mean  priests.  Professor  Munch,  of  Norway,  and  Mr. 
Dasent  are  of  the  opinion  that  as  many  came  from 
the  westetn  isles  as  from  Norway ;  however  this  may 
be,  the  Scandinavian  wave  overwhelmed  them,  and 
the  Norse  element  has  since  prevailed. 

Colonized,  then,  by  the  hardy  Norsemen  who  left 
Norway  to  enjoy  civil  liberty,  the  annals  of  Iceland 
are  not  those  of  the  bloody  wars  which  then  prevailed 
in  the  rest  of  Europe,  but  those  of  maritime  advent- 
ure and  discovery;  of  man's  contest  with  the  agen- 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        203 

cies  of  fire,  ice,  and  water ;  and  of  a  literary  culture 
which  challenges  our  admiration. 

With  a  small  and  necessarily  scattered  population, 
whose  intercourse  with  each  other  was  impeded  by 
deserts,  lava  streams,  icy  mountains,  and  furious 
rivers ;  decimated  by  famine  and  pestilence ;  their 
means  of  subsistence  destroyed  by  the  earthquake, 
volcano,  and  glacier,  —  the  history  of  Iceland  is  the 
most  remarkable  during  the  dark  ages,  as  showing 
how  literature  and  religion  can  elevate  humanity, 
under  circumstances  which,  without  these,  invariably 
lead  to  degradation. 

Without  discussing  the  unprofitable  question 
whether  Iceland  was  the  Thule  of  the  Greek 
geographers  (which  it  probably  was  not),  we  may 
pass  to  its  colonization  by  the  Norwegians  toward 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century.  These  Norsemen,  or 
Vikings,  were  of  necessity  bold  mariners,  and,  it  must 
be  confessed,  nothing  less  than  freebooters,  who,  with 
their  vessels,  despoiled  France  and  Great  Britain, 
where  they  took  permanent  possession  of  the  Shet- 
land and  Faroe  Islands,  as  stated  in  previous  chap- 
ters. 

In  861,  one  Naddodr,  driven  from  his  course  by  a 
tempest  when  returning  to  Norway  from  the  Faroes, 
came  upon  the  east  coast  of  Iceland,  the  Reidar 
fiord ;   not  liking  the  looks  of   the  shore,  he  sailed 


204  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

away  in  a  thick  snow-storm,  calling  the  country,  for 
that  reason,  Snaeland.  Gardar,  a  Swede,  sailing  from 
Denmark  to  the  Hebrides,  was  driven  by  a  storm,  in 
864,  also  to  the  east  coast  of  Iceland,  whence  he 
sailed  to  the  north  coast,  spending  the  winter  at 
Husavik ;  he  returned  home  the  next  year,  giving  a 
favorable  account  of  the  island,  calling  it  Gardars- 
holm.  In  the  following  year,  or  in  865,  Floki,  another 
Norwegian  pirate,  set  out  to  explore  this  island.  The 
compass  being  then  unknown,  after  he  had  touched 
at  the  Shetlands  and  the  Faroes,  and  when  at  a  good 
distance  from  the  latter,  where  he  obtained  three 
ravens,  he  allowed  one  to  go  free ;  the  bird  directed 
its  course  to  the  Faroes,  the  nearest  land ;  sailing  on, 
he  let  loose  another,  which,  after  rising  to'  a  great 
height,  and  seeing  no  land,  returned  to  the  vessel ;  a 
few  days  after,  he  freed  the  third  bird,  which  flew  to 
the  North,  where  Floki  followed  it,  touching  at  the 
east  coast  of  Iceland,  whence  he  sailed  south  and 
west,  landing  at  a  fiord  on  the  north-west  coast, 
where  he  spent  the  winter.  He  abandoned  this 
part  of  the  island,  calling  it  Iceland,  from  the  great 
quantity  of  drift  ice  in  the  northern  bays  (Vatn's 
fiord) ;  he  passed  a  second  winter  at  Hafna  fiord, 
just  south  of  Reykjavik,  returning  to  Norway  the 
next  spring. 

The  course  taken  by  these  mariners  was  a  very  in- 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        205 

direct  one,  unnecessarily  long  by  about  five  hundred 
miles,  by  way  of  the  Shetlands  and  Faroes,  the  dis- 
tance from  Norway  to  Iceland  being  somewhat  over 
six  hundred  miles  ;  and,  when  we  consider  the  ships 
of  that  period,  and  the  rough  seas  of  these  northern 
latitudes,  we  must  admire  the  courage,  perseverance, 
and  endurance  of  these  hardy  voyagers.  They  make 
no  mention  of  inhabitants,  though  the  Norwegian  col- 
onists, who  went  a  few  years  after,  discovered  traces 
of  former  visitors  in  fragments  of  books,  and  relig- 
ious implements,  probably  those  of  Irish  Catholics. 
It  is  believed  that  Irish  Picts  visited  and  colonized 
Iceland  in  the  eighth  century,  and  traces  of  such  oc- 
cupation are  found  in  several  of  the  geographical 
names  of  the  fiords ;  their  books,  bells,  and  crosiers 
were  left  behind,  as  "  they  chose  not  to  live  with  the 
heathens."  But  this  occupation  had  no  influence 
upon  the  future  of  the  island,  and  is  of  no  historical 
importance  as  far  as  the  progress  of  civilization  is 
concerned. 

In  870,  Ingolf  and  Leif,  cousins,  obliged  to  leave 
Norway  on  account  of  a  bloody  family  quarrel,  ex- 
plored Iceland,  which  name  the  island  retained  after 
the  visit  of  Floki ;  and,  after  spending  a  winter  on  it, 
returned,  satisfied  that  it  was  better  than  their  old 
home.  In  874,  they  set  sail  again  for  Iceland,  with 
their  families  and  friends,  and  thus  and  then  laid  the 


206  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

foundation  of  the  Icelandic  nation,  whose  millennial 
anniversary  was  celebrated,  in  our  presence,  in  August, 
1874. 

Ingolf  carried  with  him  the  sacred  pillars  of  his 
house,  which  he  threw  into  the  sea  on  approaching 
the  land,  determined  to  fix  his  habitation  where  they 
were  cast  ashore  ;  but,  being  separated  from  them  by 
a  sudden  storm,  he  was  obliged  to  land  on  the  south- 
east coast,  at  a  place  hence  to  this  day  called  Ingolfs- 
hofde,  where  he  dwelt  three  years.  Having  then 
heard  that  the  pillars  of  his  house  had  been  cast 
upon  a  beach  on  the  south-west  coast,  he  removed  to 
the  place,  where  he  founded  Reykjavik,  the  present 
capital.  His  cousin,  Leif,  was  murdered  by  his  Irish 
slaves,  on  account  of  his  cruel  treatment  of  them ; 
they  then  fled  to  the  Westmann  Islands,  where  Ingolf 
pursued  and  slew  them. 

After  Harald  the  Fair-haired  in  872  had  defeated 
the  Norwegian  chiefs  who  had  rebelled  against  his 
arbitrary  decrees,  the  best  and  bravest  of  them  took 
refuge  in  Iceland,  which  they  well  knew  had  been 
settled  by  their  adventurous  countrymen.  For  more 
than  sixty  years,  the  chiefs  and  their  families  and  re- 
tainers flocked  to  Iceland,  until  the  cause  for  emigra- 
tion ceased  and  the  best  lands  had  been  occupied. 

Settled  in  the  true  spirit  of  liberty  and  justice,  the 
only  foundations  fpr  a  republic,  they  lived  under  a 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF   ICELAND.        20/ 

patriarchal  government,  each  man  under  his  own 
chief,  as  long  as  there  was  land  enough  to  be  occu- 
pied ;  but  some  greedy  chiefs  had  in  the  beginning 
taken  more  than  they  could  use,  and  the  colonists 
began  to  interfere  with  each  other.  Amicable  settle- 
ments soon  became  impossible,  and  their  fiery  spirits 
had  recourse  to  the  sharp  decision  of  the  sword, 
which  was  often  very  unjust ;  so  that  they  early  per- 
ceived the  necessity  of  a  common  government,  gen- 
eral laws,  and  courts  of  justice.  They  adopted  their 
native  Norwegian  Althing,  or  regular  assembly,  which 
instituted  a  code  of  laws  in  928  at  Thingvalla,  to  which 
the  meetings  had  been  removed  from  the  south  part 
of  the  island.  This  assembly  met  in  the  last  half  of 
June,  and  continued  about  three  weeks ;  every  free- 
holder esteemed  it  a  privilege  to  attend  and  express 
his  opinion  on  matters  of  general  interest,  —  a  right 
precious  to  all  Scandinavian  peoples. 

In  the  words  of  Mr.  Brace,  among  them  was  found 
"  the  respect  for  law  which  has  characterized  every 
branch  of  the  Teutonic  race  since ;  here,  and  not  in 
the  Swiss  cantons,  is  the  beginning  of  Parliament 
and  Congress  ;  here,  and  not  with  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
is  the  foundation  of  trial  by  jury;  and  here,  among 
their  most  ungoverned  wassail,  is  that  high  reverence 
for  woman,  which  has  again  come  forth  by  inherit- 
ance among  the  Anglo-Norse  Americans.     The  an- 


208  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

cestors  (at  least  morally)  of  Raleigh  and  Nelson 
and  Kane  and  Farragut  appear  among  these  sea- 
rovers." 

The  physical  configuration  of  Iceland,  and  the 
difficulty  of  maintaining  large  bodies  of  men  at  one 
locality,  rendered  war  impossible,  unless  the  feuds  of 
the  chiefs  deserved  that  name  ;  fighting  with  the 
savage  nature  around  them  demanded  most  of  their 
energy  ;  the  history,  therefore,  of  this  people  is  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  other  nations  of  Europe. 
The  government  was  at  first  patriarchal,  and  they 
naturally  adopted  the  "thing"  or  council,  to  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  in  their  native  land  of 
Norway.  When  the  code  of  laws  prepared  by  Ulfljot 
was  accepted  by  the  people,  the  island  was  divided 
into  four  chief  parts,  each  of  which  was  subdivided 
into  three  (the  northern  into  four),  in  each  of  the 
latter  there  being  three  principal  temples  or  hoffs ; 
these  thirds  were  again  subdivided  into  smaller  sec- 
tions or  hrepps,  usually  ten,  corresponding  nearly  to 
the  parishes  as  now  defined.  Each  of  these  divisions 
had  its  magistrates,  in  the  election  of  which  the  peo- 
ple had  a  voice.  The  lowest  magistrates,  five  of 
whom  were  chosen  by  the  people  in  each  division, 
were  required  to  be  men  of  wisdom  and  high  charac- 
ter, and  generally  possessed  of  considerable  property; 
they  administered  justice,  looked  after  public  morals, 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        209 

and  had  the  care  of  the  poor  in  their  respective  dis- 
tricts. 

The  magistrates  of  the  main  divisions  or  provinces 
were  the  judges  and  priests  of  their  districts,  presid- 
ing in  the  assemblies  and  the  temples ;  they  were 
called  godar,  or  hofgodar^  and  their  office  was  heredi- 
tar-y,  constituting  a  kind  of  aristocracy,  which  after- 
ward led  to  serious  troubles  ;  the  income  was  small, 
and  the  influence  exerted  was,  at  first,  little  else  than 
personal ;  the  powerful  chiefs  often  exercised  more 
authority  than  the  prefect  of  the  province.  Meetings 
of  the  people  were  held  at  least  once  a  year  in  the 
principal  temples,  the  people  being  summoned  to 
attend  by  sending  round  a  wooden  mallet  named 
Thor's  hammer,  after  the  manner  of  the  fiery  signal  in 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  Ordinary  disputes  were 
settled  at  these  meetings  by  a  trial  with  judges,  juries, 
and  witnesses,  and  then,  as  now,  the  influence  of 
friends  was  often  more  powerful  than  truth  and  jus- 
tice ;  human  law  never  was,  and  probably  never  will 
be,  equity. 

The  highest  officer  was  the  lagmann,  the  supreme 
judge  of  the  island,  and  president  of  the  Althing. 
He,  with  other  chiefs,  made  the  laws,  and  saw  that 
they  were  enforced  ;  at  first,  chosen  for  life  by  the 
assembly,  his  term  of  office  was  afterward  limited ; 
during  the  three  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  of  the 


2IO  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

existence  of  the  republic,  thirty-one  persons  held  this 
office,  and  seven  of  these  were  twice  chosen  ;  there  is 
no_jrecord  of  a  third  term. 

The  Norwegian  kings  had  long  been  jealous  of  the 
republic  of  Iceland,  and  were  always  intriguing  to 
obtain  a  controlling  influence  in  its  councils.  This 
they  began  conspicuously  with  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  attempting  to  combine  the  temporal 
with  the  spiritual  power,  attended  with  the  intrigues 
always  springing  from  such  incompatible  union, 
whether  in  the  eleventh  or  the  nineteenth  century. 
King  Harald  Hardrade,  and^  his  half-brother  Olaf, 
were  active  in  this  direction,  but  without  much  suc- 
cess against  the  liberty  of  Iceland,  whose  clergy  were 
so  independent  of  the  Vatican,  that  they  continued 
to  marry,  like  other  citizens,  till  the  loss  of  their 
country's  freedom. 

As  the  power  and  wealth  of  the  chiefs  increased, 
those  of  the  people  diminished  ;  might  overruled  right ; 
reverence  for  the  laws  became  less  and  less  ;  the 
government  fell  into  the  hands  of  an  ambitious  oli- 
garchy ;  and  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
amid  the  fierce  battles  of  the  most  powerful  leaders, 
the  republic  of  Iceland  came  to  a  violent  end,  and 
largely  through  the  agency  of  the  high  chief,  Snorre, 
whose  treachery  is  hardly  atoned  for  by  the  fame  he 
brought  his   country  by   his   poetical   and  historical 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        211 

works.  This  man  —  the  Cicero  of  Iceland  —  died  by 
the  hands  of  assassins,  led  by  his  own  son-in-law,  in 
September,  1241. 

In  1262-64,  under  Hakon  VI.,  king  of  Norway, 
the  people  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him,  but 
with  the  express  understanding  that  the  country 
should  retain  its  independence,  and  be  governed  by 
its  own  laws.  It  was  never,  therefore,  completely 
incorporated  with  Norway,  nor  afterward  with  Den- 
mark. They  have  always  been  a  partially  indepen- 
dent and  isolated  people,  and  for  this  reason  preserved 
their  ancient  language  in  all  its  purity,  of  which  they 
are  to  this  day  extremely  proud. 

It  was  in  the  independent  but  turbulent  age  of  Ice- 
land, for  about  three  centuries,  that  were  composed 
the  poetical  and  historical  works,  hereafter  alluded  to, 
whose  glory  yet  sheds  a  light  over  the  land.  With 
its  allegiance  to  Norway,  the  history  of  Iceland  may, 
in  great  measure,  be  said  to  end ;  for,  though  nomi- 
nally independent,  it  was  in  reality  little  more  than  a 
province  of  that  kingdom,  and  afterward,  in  1380,  of 
Denmark.  No  longer  self-governed,  the  people  lost 
their  political  vigor  and  mental  power ;  the  lively 
interest  in  public  affairs  gave  place  to  apathy  and 
trust  in  the  foreign  state ;  literature  declined,  as  the 
skald  had  neither  the  inducement  nor  the  materials 
for   his   verses ;   wealth   diminished,   and   commerce 


212  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

fell  into  the  hands  of  foreigners  ;  the  Scandinavian 
language,  kept  pure  in  Iceland  by  its  isolation,  be- 
came so  corrupted  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 
by  German  intermixture,  that  the  native  poet  found 
himself  in  those  countries  speaking  an  unknown 
tongue. 

Much  of  the  history  of  their  fourteenth  century  is 
an  account  of  the  earthquakes,  volcanic  eruptions, 
and  pestilences  which  ravaged  the  island,  sweeping 
off  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  people,  and  impoverishing 
the  remainder.  It  is  probable,  as  before  remarked, 
that  British  fishermen  landed  on  the  shores  of  Ice- 
land before  its  discovery  by  the  Norwegians,  and 
their  commerce  was  not  interrupted  by  the  new  set- 
tlers. During  the  fifteenth  century,  the  trade  in  dried 
fish  was  quite  extensive,  and,  in  the  sixteenth,  so 
great,  and  the  relations  between  Denmark  and  Great 
Britain  so  intimate,  that  Christian  the  Second  came 
very  near  pledging  Iceland  for  a  sum  of  money  ;  how 
this  event  might  have  changed  the  destiny  of  the 
island  it  would  be  unprofitable  now  to  speculate. 
The  English  fishermen  went  there  in  large  numbers, 
till  oppressive  regulations  drove  them  away  in  1782. 
Had  the  Danish  monopolists  not  interfered,  this  com 
merce  would  have  been  of  great  advantage  to  all  con- 
cerned ;  but  the  prohibitions  were  so  strict  that  the 
Icelanders  would  have  starved  to  death,  had  not  Eng- 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        213 

lish  merchants  supplied  them,  at  great  risk,  with  arti- 
cles necessary  to  life. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  remarkable  for  the 
oppression  of  these  helpless  islanders  by  French, 
English,  and  Algerine  corsairs,  who  plundered  their 
coasts,  murdered  their  people,  and  carried  off  many 
into  captivity. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  small-pox  destroyed 
about  one-third  of  the  population ;  terrible  famines 
swept  off  vast  numbers,  and  volcanic  eruptions  of 
unusual  severity  prevailed. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  last 
link  which  bound  them  to  the  memory  of  their  old 
independence  was  broken,  and  the  Althing,  which  for 
nearly  nine  hundred  years  had  met  at  Thingvalla,  was 
transferred  to  the  capital ;  even  the  formal  meeting 
in  the  old  place,  though  without  any  political  sig- 
nificance, amid  the  rocks  and  precipices  so  sacred 
to  liberty,  was  enough  to  show  them  that  they  had 
a  national  existence.  When  that  meeting  ceased, 
the  spirit  of  the  nation  fell  —  let  us  hope,  not  for 
ever. 

Iceland  has  suffered  much  from  fatal  epidemics. 
While  some  contagious  diseases  were  imported, 
others  arose  from  volcanic  emanations  and  from 
lack  of  proper  food;  but  many  also  were  due  to 
the  absence  of  ventilation  and  of  light,  the  people, 


214  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

as  a  rule,  living  in  very  foul  air  and  in  damp  houses. 
Indeed,  it  is  a  mystery  how  children  can  be  raised 
with  such  surroundings,  which  are  more  fatal,  and 
none  the  less  reprehensible,  than  the  exposure  of  the 
innocents  by  the  ancient  Norsemen. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when 
the  northern  nations  of  Europe  were  involved  in  war, 
Iceland  suffered  to  such  a  degree  from  want  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  cut  off  from  Denmark,  that  Great 
Britain  allowed  supplies  to  be  carried  to  Iceland  and 
the  Faroes,  from  motives  of  humanity ;  though  nom- 
inally enemies,  they  were  powerless  to  offend,  if  they 
had  been  so  inclined.  In  1810,  a  man,  named  Jorgen- 
sen,  landed  from  an  English  vessel,  and  set  himself 
up  as  "  Protector  of  Iceland  ; "  his  arbitrary  rule  was 
for  a  time  submitted  to,  but  he  was  soon  removed, 
and  sent  as  a  malefactor  to  Denmark. 

In  1848,  there  was  a  slight  revolutionary  outbreak, 
because  Iceland  demanded  a  constitution;  the  king 
sent  one  through  the  Governor,  but  the  people,  as- 
sembled at  the  Althing,  disdaining  even  to  read  the 
royal  plan,  began  to  frame  one  for  themselves.  Find- 
ing them  determined  not  to  take  the  king's  proposi- 
tion as  a  basis,  he  dissolved  the  assembly  amid  great 
confusion.  In  the  words  of  Chambers,  "A  kind  of 
revolution  followed,  and  it  became  necessary  to  send 
an  army  to  restore  tranquillity.     The  army  consisted 


POLITICAL    HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        215 

of  a  lieutenant  and  thirty-six  men ;  and  after  its  ap- 
pearance the  disturbance  ceased." 

After  the  most  oppressive  commercial  regulations 
in  favor  of  Danish  monopolists,  in  1854  a  system  of 
free  trade  was  introduced,  all  imposts  being  abolished, 
except  a  trifling  tonnage  duty.  Commerce  at  once 
revived ;  the  material  resources  of  the  country  were 
developed ;  the  population  increased  ;  the  value  of 
the  exports  was  quadrupled.  While  the  people  thus 
gained  in  every  way,  the  Danish  merchants  have  not 
been  losers,  though  the  emoluments  of  the  trade  have 
been  divided  among  a  greater  number  of  individuals, 
most  of  whom  are  Danes,  who  apparently  care  little 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  country  which  enriches 
them. 

The  position  of  governor  of  Iceland  is  not  an  envi- 
able one,  especially  if  he  be  surrounded  by  a  rising 
family.  He  is  expected  to  serve  five  years,  the  salary 
is  not  more  than  that  of  a  first-class  clerk  with  us,  and 
life  there  is  a  kind  of  banishment,  in  payment  for 
which  the  incumbent  for  the  full  term  is  regarded  as 
having  earned  the  right  to  expect  a  more  valuable 
position  from  the  home  government. 

The  present  governor  Finssen  is  an  accomplished 
gentleman,  with  a  charming  family,  and  is  popular 
with  all  classes.  During  the  royal  visit  we  were  in- 
debted to  him  for  many  acts  of   graceful  courtesy. 


2l6 


AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 


He  is  liked  as  well  as  any  Dane  can  be  liked  by  this 
people,  who  think  the  management  of  their  affairs 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  native  Icelanders,  chosen 
by  themselves.  A  foreign  governor,  however  well 
disposed,  cannot  sympathize  fully  with  the  desires 
and  needs  of  the  island,  and  must,  of  necessity,  often 
find  his  duty  to  Denmark  in  conflict  with  what  justice 
and  expediency  claim  for  Iceland. 


Dr.  Hjaltalin,  Reykjavik. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 
DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA. 

Ante-Columbian  Discovery  of  America.  —  Early  European 
Colonists.  —  Phenicians.  —  Chinese.  —  Picrs.  —  Icelandic 
Discovery  of  Greenland  in  Tenth  Century.  —  Erik  the 
Red.  —  Fate  of  the  Colonists.  —  Discovery  of  America  in 
Tenth  Century. —  Bjarne.  —  Leif.  —  Thorwald  and  Thor- 
FiNN.  —  Traces  of  the  Norse  Colonies  in  Massachusetts. 
Dighton  Rock.  —  Newport  Tower.  —  Discovery  by  Colum- 
bus.—  Honor  due  to  him  as  the  real  Discoverer.  —  What 
might  have  been. 

"Let  us  remember  Leif  Erikson,  the  first  white  man  who  planted 
his  feet  on  American  soil !  Let  us  remember  his  brother,  Thorwald 
Erikson,  the  first  European  and  the  first  Christian  who  was  buried 
beneath  American  sod  !  Let  us  not  forget  Thorfinn  and  Gudrid,  who 
established  the  first  European  colony  in  America !  nor  their  little 
son,  Snorre,  the  first  man  of  European  blood  whose  birthplace  was 
in  the  New  World  !  " 

'^  I  "HE  above  quotation  from  Professor  Anderson's 
book,  entitled  "  America  not  discovered  by  Co- 
lumbus," published  in  1874,  indicates  a  channel  of 
investigation  in  which  several  Scandinavian  scholars 
have  recently  been  working  with  great  industry. 
Though  they  have  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  Amer- 
ica was  known  to  Europeans  centuries  before  the 
time  of  Columbus,  they  do  not,  for  reasons  hereafter 
stated,  in  my  opinion,  diminish  in  the  least  the  fame 
10 


2l8  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

of  the  great  Genoese  navigator,  nor  authorize  us  to 
deny  that  he  was  practically,  as  far  as  the  progress  of 
nations  is  concerned,  the  discoverer  of  America. 

Among  the  races  which  reached  the  American 
continent  before  the  Norse  discovery,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following :  according  to  Strabo,  the  Greek 
philosopher,  Pytheas,  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
three  hundred  and  forty  years  before  Christ ;  but  it 
is  most  likely  that  he  only  went  to  Thule,  one  of  the 
northern  islands  beyond  Great  Britain.  The  Pheni- 
cians  were  experienced  navigators,  and  had  colonized 
at  a  very  early  period  the  Canaries  ;  and  they  could 
easily,  and  doubtless  did,  reach  the  American  coast. 

A  recent  work  claims  that  this  country  was  discov- 
ered in  the  fifth  century  by  Chinese  Buddhist  priests  ; 
and  it  is  altogether  probable  that  there  was  an  early 
communication  between  America  and  Asia,  and  per- 
haps a  distinct  settling  of  the  former  by  way  of 
Behring's  Straits.  The  people  of  the  Aleutian  or 
Fox  islands  differ  from  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
north-west  coast  in  appearance  and  customs,  and  are 
more  like  those  farther  south,  in  Mexico.  Many 
questions  of  great  ethnological  interest  are  here  sug- 
gested, the  discussion  of  which  cannot  be  attempted 
here  ;  such  as  the  origin  of  the  California  Indians, 
of  the  Aztecs,  Central  Americans,  Inca  Peruvians, 
and  Mound  Builders,  as  contrasted  with  the  Ameri- 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  219 

can  Indians  to  the  east,  north,  and  south.  It  would, 
indeed,  be  strange  if  the  modern  Icelanders,  with 
their  eastern  characteristics,  coming  westward  across 
the  Atlantic,  should  on  our  Alaskan  coast  or  north- 
west territories  complete  the  ethnological  circle,  the 
western  meeting  the  eastern  wave  of  the  nations, 
which  renders  American  ethnology  such  a  complex 
study. 

There  is  also  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  Irish, 
or  other  Pictish  race,  Roman  Catholics,  went  to 
America  as  early  as  795,  going  even  as  far  south  as 
Florida-  The  Basque  fishermen  also  very  early  were 
in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  northern  coasts  of  Amer- 
ica in  the  pursuit  of  their  calling. 

What  became  of  these  settlers  must  be  left  to  con- 
jecture; but  it  is  altogether  probable  that  they  by 
degrees  became  amalgamated  with  the  more  numer- 
ous surrounding  races,  —  some  of  them  maintaining 
a  splendid  existence  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and 
Peru,  even  to  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquests ;  but 
most  of  them  perishing,  leaving  no  trace  except  cer- 
tain customs,  words,  and  traditions  among  the  Amer- 
ican Indians,  otherwise  quite  inexplicable. 

To  Icelanders,  among  others,  belongs  the  honor 
of  discovering  Greenland  and  America.  Giinnbjorn, 
about  880,  driven  to  the  west  by  a  storm  first  sighted 
Greenland.     In  982,  Erik  the  Red  sailed  there,  ex- 


220  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

plored  the  coast  for  three  years,  taking  possession  of 
the  best  places,  and  spoke  of  the  country,  which  he 
called  Greenland,  on  his  return,  in  such  terms,  that, 
in  986,  quite  a  colony  settled  there ;  they  kept  up  a 
regular  communication  with  Iceland,  only  two  hun- 
dred miles  distant,  and  from  land  to  land  very  much 
less.  About  the  year  1000  several  Christian  churches 
were  established  there,  with  their  bishop.  Says  Pro- 
fessor Anderson :  "  The  discovery  of  Greenland  was 
a  natural  consequence  of  the  settlement  of  Iceland, 
just  as  the  discovery  of  America  afterwards  was  a 
natural  consequence  of  the  settlement  of  Greenland." 
The  colony  established  after  Erik's  return  was  a 
flourishing  one,  with  Gardar  for  the  capital,  and  be- 
came subject  to  Norway  in  1261  ;  during  its  con- 
tinuance no  less  than  seventeen  bishops  served  in 
Greenland.  After  a  period  of  more  than  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years'  intercourse  with  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Denmark,  in  1406  the  last  bishop  was  sent  over ; 
and  from  that  date  nothing  was  heard  from  the  set- 
tlers. Their  fate  is  a  mystery  as  great  as  that  of 
Sir  John  Franklin  ;  if  they  lived  on  the  east  coast,  as 
some  suppose,  the  drift  ice  probably  came  down  upon 
them,  destroying  them  by  cold  and  starvation  ;  if  on 
the  west  coast,  where  the  Danish  settlements  now 
are,  they  were  more  likely  exterminated  by  disease, 
misery,  and  the  attacks  of  the  Esquimaux.     In  the 


DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA,  221 

beginning  of  the  last  century,  when  the  country  was 
again  taken  possession  of  by  Europeans,  the  remains 
of  old  dwellings  were  found  on  the  west  coast. 

America,  also,  was  discovered  in  986  by  an  Ice- 
lander, Bjarne  Herjulfson,  who,  the  first  European, 
during  a  voyage  to  Greenland,  was  driven  out  into 
the  Atlantic  by  a  storm ;  after  sailing  some  days,  he 
came  to  a  wooded  land,  with  alternating  hills  and 
plains  along  the  barren  coast,  probably  from  Nan- 
tucket to  Newfoundland ;  as  he  could  not  prevail  on 
his  crew  to  go  on  shore,  he  returned  to  Greenland, 
with  a  fair  wind,  in  six  days.  His  and  other  Norse 
discoveries  of  Greenland  and  America  we  know  from 
the  "Codex  Flataeensis,"  finished  in  1387.  His  des- 
cription of  the  country  led  Leif,  son  of  Erik  the  Red, 
to  sail  from  Norway  to  find  it.  To  the  south-west  of 
Greenland  he  discovered  land,  believed  to  have  been 
the  coast  of  Labrador ;  and  farther  to  the  south  the 
wooded  country  seen  by  Bjarne,  supposed  to  be  New- 
foundland, called  by  him  Helluland ;  farther  south 
what  he  called  Markland,  probably  Nova  Scotia. 
Two  days  after,  with  a  strong  north--west  wind,  he 
came  to  an  island,  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
strait ;  sailing  through  this  he  came  to  a  beautiful 
inland  sea,  on  whose  shores  he  spent  the  winter. 
The  sea  swarmed  with  fine  salmon,  and  ihe  grass 
remained  green  all  winter.     On  the  shortest  day  the 


222  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

sun  was  nine  hours  above  the  horizon  (or  from  7.30  a.m. 
to  4.30  P.M.),  which  would  make  the  latitude  reached 
a  little  north  of  New  York ;  the  island  was  probably 
Nantucket,  and  the  inland  sea  a  bay  between  Rhode 
Island  and  Cape  Cod.  From  the  discovery  of  wild 
grapes  there,  he  called  the  country  Vinland.  This 
was  in  the  year  1000 ;  he  was  the  first  European 
known  to  have  stood  upon  the  continent  of  America ; 
he  passed  most  of  his  time  in  the  vicinity,  probably, 
of  Mount  Hope  Bay,  R.  I.,  or  the  present  Fall  River, 
in  about  lat.  41®  24'.  His  brother,  Thorwald,  two 
years  after,  visited  the  place,  but  was  killed  by  the  na- 
tives (Skraelings  or  Esquimaux),  with  whom,  however, 
a  settlement,  planted  soon  after  by  Thorfinn,  traded 
for  two  hundred  years ;  the  last  named  evidently 
went  farther  south,  as  he  found  maize  growing  wild ; 
and  it  is  believed  that  these  Northmen  went  as  far  as 
Chesapeake  Bay;  and  in  the  traditions  of  the  old 
Indian  tribes  of  Florida  there  are  indications  of  white 
men,  possessing  iron  instruments,  having  inhabited 
their  country.  Thorwald,  who  lived  in  America  three 
years,  was  the  first  European  recorded  as  having  died 
and  been  buried  here.  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  who  mar- 
ried Gudrid,  widow  of  Thorstein,  a  younger  brother 
of  Thorwald,  sailed  with  her  to  Vinland,  in  1007, 
from  Iceland.  He  took  with  him  a  hundred  and 
fifty-one  men  and  seven  women,  with  a  number  of 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  223 

cattle  and  sheep ;  he  remained  there  three  years, 
when  the  hostility  of  the  natives  compelled  them 
to  depart.  In  1008  was  born  to  him  a  son,  Snorre 
Thorfinnson,  on  the  shore  of  Buzzard's  Bay;  from 
this,  as  far  as  known,  first  European  born  in  America 
was  descended  the  famous  Icelander,  the  sculptor 
Thorwaldsen,  born  seven  and  a  half  centuries  later. 
Intercourse  with  these  American  settlements  was 
kept  up  till  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
when  they  seem  to  have  disappeared,  either  amalga- 
mated with  the  savage  tribes,  or  destroyed  in  the 
wars  in  which  the  Esquimaux  were  forced  north  by 
the  more  warlike  tribes  which  had  possession  of 
the  country  when  Columbus  first  landed. 

According  to  Professor  Rafn,  who  has  paid  the 
greatest  attention  to  American  antiquities  of  the 
Norse  occupation,  it  is  set  down  as  a  fact  that 
Europeans  knew  of  this  country  long  before  Colum- 
bus ;  and  he  suggests  that  some  of  the  people  living 
here  at  the  time  of  his  discovery  were  descendants  of 
Europeans,  and  that  Christianity  had  been  introduced 
here,  both  among  Norsemen  and  the  Indians,  long 
before  this  period. 

Says  also  Humboldt,  in  his  "Cosmos,"  while  the 
Caliphat  "  of  Bagdad  was  still  flourishing  under  the 
Abbasides,  and  while  the  rule  of  the  Samanides,  so 
favorable  to  poetry,  still  flourished  in  Persia,  America 


224  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

was  discovered,  about  the  year  looo,  by  Leif,  son  of 
Erik  the  Red,  at  about  4i>^°  north  latitude." 

Professor  Anderson,  of  Madison,  Wisconsin,  a 
Scandinavian,  has  given,  in  his  work  before  quoted, 
some  of  the  conclusions  of  Professor  Rafn  on  the 
Norse  remains  in  Massachusetts  ;  these  he  enlarges 
upon  with  approval,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  con- 
victions of  such  experts  ought  to  weigh  more  with 
the  general  scholar  and  reader  than  the  doubts  and 
objections  of  iconoclast  historians,  who  have  no  more 
respect  for  Faust  and  Tell  and  Thorfinn  and  Shaks- 
peare  than  they  have  for  Jack  the  Giant-killer,  St. 
Nicholas,  or  the  Man  in  the  Moon. 

On  the  famous  Dighton  rock,  in  Taunton  river, 
besides  undoubted  Indian  marks.  Professor  Rafn  has 
discovered  the  following  inscription  : 

ORFINN,  CXXXI,  N  -^^^..  M,  NAM, 

which  he  interprets  thus  :  "  Thorfinn,  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty-one  Norse  seafaring  men,  took  possession  of 
this  land ;  "  other  marks  on  the  rock  remove  all  doubt 
in  his  mind.  The  above  Roman  numerals  represent, 
according  to  Professor  Anderson,  a  hundred  and  fifty- 
one,  the  exact  number  of  Thorfinn's  party,  as  the 
Icelanders  reckoned  twelve  decades  to  a  hundred, 
calling  it  "  great  hundred  ; "  C  would,  therefore,  rep- 
resent a  hundred  and  twenty  instead  of  a  hundred. 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  22$ 

The  facts,  as  above  interpreted,  are  stated  in  the 
sagas  of  a  character  admitted  authentic  by  Scandi- 
navian scholars,  and  no  others  have  any  right  to 
decide  the  matter.  From  the  same  sources  we  are 
told  that  the  Icelanders  made  other  expeditions,  as 
far  south  as  Florida,  and  up  to  near  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  when  they  were  arrested  by  the 
ravages  of  the  fearful  "  black  plague,"  which  devas- 
tated northern  Europe  and  Iceland. 

In  183 1,  a  skeleton  in  brass  armor  was  disinterred 
near  Fall  River,  Massachusetts,  which  attracted  much 
attention  at  the  time,  and  caused  much  learned  dis- 
cussion ;  it  suggested  to  Professor  Longfellow,  in 
1 84 1,  the  poem  beginning :  — 

"  Speak  I  speak  I  thou  fearful  guest !  ** 

The  chemist-  Berzelius  analyzed  a  portion  of  the 
breastplate,  and  found  it  to  consist  of  98^  per  cent 
of  copper  (70.29)  and  zinc  (28.03),  with  0.91  tin,  0.74 
lead,  and  0.03  iron,  —  coming  much  nearer  the  com- 
position of  the  old  Denmark  bronzes  of  the  tenth 
century  than  to  the  alloys  of  the  eighteenth ;  the 
breastplate  also  agreed  with  this  portion  of  the  old 
northern  armors.  Says  Professor  Anderson :  "  The 
circumstances  connected  with  it  are  so  wonderful  that 
it  might  indeed  seem  almost  as  though  it  were  the 
skeleton  of  this  very  Thorwald  Erikson ! "  and  yet 
10*  o 


226  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

there  are  those  so  incredulous  as  to  intimate  that 
these  are  the  remains  of  an  American  Indian,  buried 
with  pieces  of  a  comparatively  modern  brass  kettle ! 

Some  believe  that  we  find  traces  of  the  Norse 
settlements  in  the  "old  tower"  at  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  whose  origin  and  purpose  have  long  been  a 
mystery ;  it  resembles  other  structures  left  by  them 
in  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands.  It  is  thus 
alluded  to  in  the  poem  of  Longfellow  above  quoted  :  — 

"  Three  weeks  we  westward  bore, 
And  when  the  storm  was  o'er, 
Cloudlike  we  saw  the  shore 

Stretching  to  leeward  j 
There  for  my  lady's  bower 
Built  I  the  lofty  tower, 
Which  to  this  very  hour 

Stands  looking  seaward." 

Professor  Anderson  says  that  the  Newport  tower 
"  undoubtedly  was  built  by  the  Norsemen,"  and  that 
"  the  Indians  told  the  early  New  England  settlers  [it] 
was  built  by  the  giants,  and  the  Norse  discoverers 
certainly  looked  like  giants  to  the  Indians."  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  maintained  that  the  tower  was  built 
by  governor  Arnold,  of  Rhode  Island,  for  a  windmill, 
to  replace  one  of  wood  blown  down  in  a  storm  ;  va- 
rious specious  reasons  are  given  for  the  peculiarity  of 
the  construction,  which,  to  my  mind,  are  quite  as 
difficult  to  accept  as  the  explanation  of  the  antiqua- 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  22/ 

nans.  Whether  built  by  Norsemen  or  Englishmen,  it 
is  strange  that  the  early  annals  of  the  colony  do  not 
make  frequent  mention  of  so  strange  a  structure,  and 
that,  if  built  in  such  modern  time  as  governor  Arnold's, 
there  should  be  any  possible  question  in  the  matter. 
Governor  Arnold  very  likely  built  a  stone  windmill, 
but  that  it  now  stands  as  the  "  Newport  Tower  "  is  by 
no  means  certainly  established ;  there  is  much  mys- 
tery and  doubt  in  the  matter,  and  I  prefer,  with  the 
Scandinavian  antiquarians  and  scholars,  to  give  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt  to  the  Norsemen,  who  so  long 
inhabited  this  very  region  in  America. 

Now  that  the  historical  relations  of  Iceland  to 
America  have  been  given,  the  reader  is  referred 
back  to  the  poetic  greeting  of  Bayard  Taylor,  on 
page  78,  the  appropriateness  of  whose  personages 
and  events  will  now  be  more  fully  appreciated. 

There  is  also  evidence  from  the  Sagas,  that  the 
Welsh,  under  Madoc,  colonized  America  in  11 70; 
this  adds  another  perplexing  element  to  the  problem 
of  American  archaeology. 

It  is,  therefore,  beyond  a  doubt  that  America  was 
known  to  Europeans  five  hundred  years  before  Co- 
lumbus set  foot  upon  its  islands.  From  his  own  let- 
ter, as  quoted  by  Washington  Irving,  it  appears  that 
this  celebrated  navigator  was  in  Iceland  in  1477,  only 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years   after  the  last  Norse 


228  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

expedition  thither  ;  and  Humboldt,  in  his  Cosmos, 
regards  it  as  a  fact  that  he  got  at  Reykjavik  in  that 
year  the  information  from  the  Icelandic  manuscripts 
which  led  him  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  Whether  he 
did  or  did  not  learn  any  thing  in  Iceland  about 
America  is,  of  course,  uncertain ;  but  he  could  have 
consulted  there  the  accounts  of  Leifs  voyage,  written 
at  least  one  hundred  years  before  his  first  voyage  ;  and 
it  is  fair  to  presume  that  such  a  shrewd  observer  would 
not  have  neglected  such  an  excellent  opportunity. 

Other  facts,  collected  by  Professor  Anderson, 
showing  that  Columbus  probably  knew  of  the  "  land 
to  the  west  of  Europe,"  are,  i.  The  opportunity  to 
consult  maps  in  Rome :  Gudrid,  wife  of  Thorfinn, 
after  the  death  of  her  husband,  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome,  and  personally  communicated  a  knowledge  of 
Vinland ;  pope  Paschal  II.,  in  1112,  appointed  Erik 
Upsi  bishop  of  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  Vinland,  and 
he  went  to  the  last  in  1 121.  2.  Adam  of  Bremen's 
writings,  published  in  1073,  make  mention  of  Vin- 
land ;  and  Columbus,  like  other  students  of  geog- 
raphy, in  an  age  of  maritime  discovery  by  England, 
France,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  must  have  known  of 
and  examined  them.  His  conviction  of  the  existence 
of  land  beyond  the  Atlantic,  was  founded,  on  his  own 
avowal,  on  the  authority  of  "  learned  writers,"  and  did 
not  arise  at  all  either  from  accident  or  inspiration. 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  229 

It  seems  to  me  that  Columbus  never  entertained  an 
idea  of  discovering  a  new  world,  as  he  must  have 
known  that  the  rediscovery  of  a  continent,  visited  by 
the  Northmen  for  five  hundred  years,  would  avail  him 
nothing  ;  he  was  in  search  of  a  very  different  thing ; 
viz.,  a  western  route  to  India,  —  a  commercial  and 
not  a  geographical  problem  he  wished  to  solve.  He 
thought  that  Cuba  and  Haiti,  which  he  discovered 
on  his  first  voyage,  were  parts  of  the  eastern  extrem- 
ity of  Asia ;  hence  he  called  these  the  Indies,  and 
their  people  Indians ;  to  which  the  term  West  was 
added,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  East  Indies. 
He  touched  at  Jamaica  on  his  second  voyage,  which 
he  found  inhabited  by  fierce  cannibal  Caribs,  so  differ- 
ent from  the  other  American  Indians,  that  it  has  been 
thought  that  they  came  across  the  Atlantic  and  not 
the  Pacific. 

Far  be  it  from  me,  in  the  above  statements,  to 
detract  in  the  least  from  the  genius  and  merit  of 
Columbus ;  though  America  had  been  discovered  a 
thousand  years  before  his  day,  such  knowledge  and 
occupation  were  of  no  practical  use  to  the  world ; 
and  not  untij  his  voyages,  whatever  their  object 
might  have  been,  were  the  movements  of  human 
races  directed  for  permanent  benefit  to  man  to  the 
New  World.  Therefore,  all  honor  to  Columbus  for 
his  discovery  of  America,  which  had  better  have  been 
called  Columbia. 


230  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Many  a  man  had  seen  the  lid  of  a  tea-kettle  raised 
by  the  enclosed  vapor,  but  James  Watt  first  utilized 
the  power  of  steam  in  a  practical  way ;  many  a  col- 
lege professor  and  physician  knew  that  the  vapor  of 
sulphuric  ether  would  produce  insensibility  and  deep 
sleep,  but  no  one  demonstrated  the  fact  that  it  could 
be  safely  used  for  the  annihilation  of  pain  in  severe 
surgical  operations  until  Dr.  W.  T.  G.  Morton's  ex- 
periments in  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  in 
1 846  ;  many  scientific  men  were  acquainted  with  the 
possibility  of  sending  signals  along  electric  wires  for 
short  distances,  but  Morse  is  none  the  less  the  in- 
ventor of  the  electric  telegraph. 

Not  to  the  one  who  first  discovers  a  thing,  and 
allows  it  to  lie  idle  in  his  brain,  but  to  him  who  first 
renders  it  of  use  to  the  world,  will  the  honor  of  the 
discovery  justly  be  attributed.  The  laurels,  then, 
need  not  be  taken  from  the  brow  of  Columbus,  and 
placed  upon  the  head  of  the  Icelander  Leif,  the  son 
of  Erik.     Both  should  be  crowned. 

The  Norse  colonies  all  died  out,  but  the  possession 
of  fire-arms  enabled  the  Spaniards  to  maintain  their 
ground  against  the  hosts  of  the  naked  and  poorly 
armed  Indians.  Says  Professor  Anderson :  "  If  the 
communication  between  Vinland  and  the  north  could 
have  been  maintained  say  one  hundred  years  longer, 
that  is,  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  it  is 


DISCOVERY   OF  AMERICA.  23 1 

difficult  to  determine  what  the  result  would  have 
been.  Possibly  this  sketch  would  have  appeared  in 
Icelandic  instead  of  English.  Undoubtedly  the  Norse 
colonies  would  have  become  firmly  rooted  by  that 
time,  and  Norse  language,  nationality,  and  institu- 
tions might  have  played  as  conspicuous  a  part  in 
America  as  the  English  and  their  posterity  do  now-a- 
days." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

LITERATURE    OF     ICELAND. 

Literary  and  Heroic  Age. — Eddas  and  Sagas. — The  Skalds. — 
Heimskringla. — Landnamabok. — Icelandic  Poetry. — Value 
OF  Icelandic  Literature  in  the  Estimation  of  Scholars. 
—  Language,  and  its  Relations  to  the  Anglo-Saxon. — 
Lord's  Prayer  in  Norse.  —  Education  of  the  People.— 
John  Thorlakson.  — Schools.  — Newspapers.  — Library  at 
Reykjavik.  —  Thorwaldsen's  Font. 

"  Thou  recallest  bards, 
"Who,  in  solitary  chambers, 
And  with  hearts  by  passion  wasted, 
Wrote  thy  pages. 

Thou  recallest  homes, 
Where  thy  songs  of  love  and  friendship 
Made  the  gloomy  northern  winter 
Bright  as  summer. 

Once  some  ancient  skald. 
In  his  bleak  ancestral  Iceland, 
Chanted  staves  of  these  old  ballads 
To  the  Vikings." 

TT  is  singular  that,  while  the  rest  of  Europe  was 
immersed  in  intellectual  darkness,  this  cold  and 
barren  island  should  have  been  the  workshop  and  the 
repository  in  which  the  most  important  events  of  the 
age,  in  all  parts  of  northern  Europe,  were  rescued  from 


LITERATURE    OE   ICELAND.  233 

oblivion.  The  history  of  their  Norwegian  ancestors, 
and  of  their  own  warlike  deeds,  was  preserved  and  re- 
cited in  the  verses  of  the  native  skalds  or  poets,  attached 
to  the  persons  of  the  high  chiefs  ;  and  thus  events, 
crowded  out  of  memory  by  the  bloody  wars  of  the 
continent,  were  preserved  in  this  more  peaceful  island, 
which  thus  became  the  historic  storehouse  of  the  past 
and  the  present.  These  poems,  or  sagas,  as  they 
were  called,  were  recited  both  in  public  meetings  and 
in  family  gatherings  of  the  high  and  low,  and  thus 
became  the  property  of  the  whole  people.'  The  older 
sagas  were  mythical,  but  the  later  ones  historical,  and 
authentic,  even  minute,  records  of  actual  events.  The 
language  is  generally  pure  and  elegant,  as  among  the 
Scandinavian  nations  the  eloquent  tongue  commanded 
equal  honor  with  the  valiant  hand. 

Poetry  seems  always  to  have  preceded  prose ;  as 
rhythm,  rhyme,  and  measured  lines  are  more  easily 
remembered  and  recited,  and  listened  to  with  more 
pleasure  for  their  bold  imagery,  than  irregular  or  mo- 
notonous prose.  The  measure  of  the  Icelandic  poetic 
works  is  often  very  complicated  ;  their  chief  character- 
istic ornament  was  alliteration,  which  seems  almost 
peculiar  to  the  northern  nations  ;  their  rhymes  often 
occurred  in  the  middle  of  the  lines,  and  even  in  the 
middle  of  words,  and  in  many  respects  resembled  the 
Anglo-Saxon,  another  branch  of  the  Teutonic  stock. 


234  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

They  were  not  only  committed  to  memory,  but 
were  engraved  on  wood  in  Runic  characters,  and  in 
Roman  letters  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 
These  skalds  were  noble  and  warlike  men,  who,  like 
the  troubadours,  wandered  into  foreign  lands,  every- 
where received  with  honor,  and  in  this  way  brought 
back  the  knowledge  of  the  most  important  occur- 
rences in  Europe,  from  Russia  to  the  Mediterranean, 
the  East,  and  the  Holy  Land,  which,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  the  country,  were  preserved  in  the  written 
sagas. 

In  the  "■  Heimskringla,"  or  "  Orb  of  the  World,"  of 
Snorre  Sturleson,  and  the  Edda  by  the  same  author, 
we  find  a  continuous  and  consistent  history  of  his 
own  and  the  continental  nations  in  the  simple  Ice- 
landic language.  It  has  been  said  that  "  to  this  work 
we  are  indebted  for  our  chief  knowledge  of  those 
Norman  chiefs,  whose  names  made  the  kings  of 
Europe  tremble  in  their  palaces,  and  whose  descend- 
ants now  sit  on  the  mightiest  of  their  thrones."  Of 
this,  Longfellow  speaks  in  his  Saga  of  King  Olaf,  as 
follows :  —  , 

"  A  wondrous  book 
Of  legends  in  the  old  Norse  tongue,  — 
Legends  that  once  were  told  or  sung 
In  many  a  smoky  fireside  nook 
Of  Iceland,  in  the  ancient  day, 
By  wandering  saga-man  or  skald  ; 
Heimskringla  is  the  volume  called." 


LITERATURE    OF  ICELAND.  235 

Translations  of  the  first  are  found  in  Danish  and 
Latin,  and  of  the  second  in  Mallett's  "  Northern  An- 
tiquities." Older  than  these  were  the  writings  of 
Are  Frode  and  Saemund  Frode,  of  which  Snorre  has 
made  great  use.  After  Snorre  came  Sturle  Thordsson, 
his  brother-in-law,  who,  in  1284,  wrote  the  history  of 
the  island  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
until  its  subjection  to  the  Norwegian  lungs. 

The  most  curious  of  all  is  the  "  Landnamabok," 
the  narrative  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  Ice- 
landic nation,  written  by  various  authors,  from  Are 
Frode,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eleventh  century,  to 
Erlendsen,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth.  It 
contains  the  names  of  about  three  thousand  persons 
and  fourteen  hundred  places,  and  is  the  most  com- 
plete genealogical  record  of  a  nation  in  existence. 
This,  with  the  historical  sagas,  has  been  published  by 
the  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  of  Copenhagen, 
in  Danish  and  Latin.  Several  modern  poets  have 
selected  these  sagas  as  the  subjects  for  their  poems, 
and  among  them  Longfellow,  whose  name  is  dearly 
loved,  as  I  had  frequent  opportunity  to  know,  by  these 
warm-hearted  Icelanders. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  statements  that  the  prin- 
cipal and  most  interesting  monuments  of  Iceland 
are  her  literary  ones.  These  present  to  the  modern 
scholar    the    most    complete    account    of    Scandina- 


236  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

vian  mythology  in  the  older  poetic  and  younger  prose 
Eddas,  —  the  former  being  a  collection  of  the  frag- 
ments of  the  ancient  myths  current  in  the  twelfth 
century ;  the  latter,  or  younger,  being  a  historical  com- 
pilation, amplifying  and  supplementing  the  former. 
The  name  of  sagas  is  generally  understood  as  belong- 
ing to  the  legendary  accounts  of  events  which  oc- 
curred in  Norway  and  Iceland  from  the  ninth  to  the 
thirteenth  century,  mixed  with  much  metaphorical 
and  intricate  versification,  exceedingly  puzzling  to 
scholars. 

According  to  Baring  Gould,  who  has  made  the 
sagas  a  special  study,  Icelandic  poetry  has  gone 
through  four  stages  :  i.  The  Edda  period,  with  a 
simple  metre,  and  plain  and  vigorous  language ; 
2.  That  of  the  "  verse-smiths,"  who  hammered  out 
stanzas  full  of  epithet  and  simile,  but  very  obscure  in 
meaning  ;  3.  That  of  ballads,  mostly  reproductions  of 
well-known  popular  songs  of  various  nations ;  4.  Of 
the  "rimur,"  the  sagas  set  to  jingling  rhyme  coming 
into  vogue  during  the  last  century,  and  still  popular, 
generally  chanted  to  slow  and  solemn  melody. 

Almost  every  traveller  who  has  been  to  Iceland, 
and  has  published  any  account  thereof,  gives  exam- 
ples of  these  sagas ;  any  interested  in  these  myths 
are  referred  to  Baring  Gould's  "  Iceland  :  its  Scenes 
and  Sagas."     London:   1863;  and  to  Professor  An- 


LITERATURE    OF   ICELAND.  237 

derson's  recently  published  "  Norse  Mythology." 
Many  of  the  popular  superstitions  and  nursery  tales 
of  the  past  and  present  English-speaking  races  are 
of  Icelandic  origin.  "  Mother  Goose "  is  largely 
Scandinavian;  "Jack  and  Gill,"  "  Dickery,  dickery, 
dock,"  and  many  others,  were  well  known  to  the 
Norsemen. 

Most  of  the  recent  Icelandic  literature  is  of  a  seri- 
ous and  even  devotional  character ;  and  their  poetic 
translations  are  mainly  selected  from  such  authors  as 
Homer,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Klopstock,  and  Pope. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Icelandic  literature  is 
a  mine  of  wealth,  which  has  been  sadly  neglected  by 
scholars,  and  cultivated  only  by  a  select  few.  Pro- 
fessor Anderson,  at  the  end  of  his  book  on  the  discov- 
ery of  America,  gives  copious  extracts  from  American, 
English,  and  German  authors,  expressing  their  high 
opinion  of  the  historical,  linguistic,  and  literary  value 
of  the  Scandinavian  languages,  now  spoken  in  purity 
only  in  Iceland.  He  says  himself :  "  I  will  add  that  I 
have  not  found  a  scholar,  who  has  devoted  himself  to 
this  field  of  study  and  research,  that  has  not  at  the 
same  time  become  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Scandi- 
navian, and  particularly  Icelandic  history,  languages, 
and  literatures." 

The  following  is  from  Professor  W.  Fiske,  the  most 
learned  cultivator  of  these  northern  languages  in  this 


238  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

country :  "  It  [the  old  Icelandic  literature]  deserves 
the  careful  study  of  every  student  of  letters.  For  the 
English-speaking  races,  especially,  there  is  nowhere, 
so  near  home,  a  field  promising  to  the  scholar  so  rich 
a  harvest.  The  few  translations,  or  attempted  trans- 
lations, which  are  to  be  found  in  English,  give 
merely  a  faint  idea  of  the  treasures  of  antique  wis- 
dom and  sublime  poetry  which  exist  in  the  Eddie 
lays,  or  of  the  quaint  simplicity,  dramatic  action, 
and  striking  realism  which  characterize  the  historical 
sagas." 

From  B.  F.  De  Costa,  he  quotes  :  "  Yet  while  other 
nations  were  without  a  literature,  the  intellect  of  Ice- 
land was  in  active  exercise,  and  works  were  produced 
like  the  Eddas  and  Heimskringla,  works  which,  being 
inspired  by  a  lofty  genius,  will  rank  with  the  writings 
of  Homer  and  Herodotus." 

The  Howitts  say :  "  There  is  nothing,  besides  the 
Bible  and  the  poem  of  Homer  itself,  which  can  com- 
pare in  all  the  elements  of  greatness  with  the  Edda. 
The  Icelandic  poems  have  no  parallel  in  all  the  treas- 
ures of  ancient  literature ;  they  are  the  expressions 
of  the  souls  of  poets  existing  in  the  primeval  and  un- 
effeminated  earth.  The  Edda  is  a  structure  of  that 
grandeur  and  importance,  that  it  deserves  to  be  far 
better  known  to  us  generally  than  it  is.  The  spirit 
in  it  is  sublime  and  colossal." 


LITERATURE    OF  ICELAND.  239 

Professor  Longfellow  says  :  "  The  Icelandic  is  as 
remarkable  as  the  Anglo-Saxon  for  its  abruptness,  its 
obscurity,  arid  the  boldness  of  its  metaphors.  Poets 
are  called  Songsmiths  ;  poetry,  the  Language  of  the 
Gods ;  gold,  the  Daylight  of  Dwarfs  ;  the  rainbow, 
the  Bridge  of  the  Gods  ;  a  battle,  a  Bath  of  Blood,  the 
Hail  of  Odin,  the  Meeting  of  Shields  ;  the  tongue,  the 
Sword  of  Words  ;  rivers,  the  Sweat  of  Earth,  the  Blood 
of  the  Valleys  ;  arrows,  the  Daughters  of  Misfortune, 
the  Hailstones  of  Helmets  ;  the  earth,  the  Vessel  that 
floats  on  the  Ages ;  the  sea,  the  Field  of  Pirates ;  a 
ship,  the  Skate  of  Pirates,  the  Horse  of  the  Waves. 
When  the  long  winter  came,  the  poet  bewailed 
the  death  of  Baldr,  the  sun  ;  and  he  saw  in  each 
eclipse  the  horrid  form  of  the  wolf,  Managamr, 
who  swallowed  the  moon  and  stained  the  sky  with 
blood." 

Professor  Anderson's  "Norse  Mythology"  (1875) 
is  the  first  complete  and  systematic  presentation,  of 
the  subject  in  the  English  language,  and  will  be 
heartily  welcomed  as  filling  an  important  gap  in 
English  literature,  and  as  a  delightful  companion  for 
the  student  in  his  walks  amid  the  mysterious  and 
weird  halls  of  Scandinavian  antiquity. 

In  the  dialect  of  the  people  of  the  Orkneys  are 
many  words  of  Scandinavian  origin ;  the  old  Norse 
has  also  entered  largely  into  the  formation  of  the 


240  AN-  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Lowland  Scotch ;  as  the  Scandinavian  andx  Anglo- 
Saxon  languages  are  branches  of  the  old  Gothic 
stem,  many  words  in  Norse  and  modern  English 
are  essentially  the  same ;  in  the  parts  of  Great 
Britain  settled  by  Celts,  as  Scotland,  most  of  the 
local  names  betray  a  Celtic  origin,  while  Norse  names 
prevail  in  the  regions  invaded  by  Norwegians  and 
Danes. 

The  following  are  a  few  Icelandic  words,  selected 
from  a  long  list  given  by  Mackenzie,  in  1810,  to  show 
their  resemblance  to  English  :  eyrji,  one  ;  tveir,  two ; 
thryr,  three  ;  fioorer,  four  ;  sex,  six  ;  aatta,  eight ;  twolf, 
twelve ;  threttan,  thirteen  ;  fioortaiiy  fourteen  ;  Jnm- 
drad,  hundred ;  thustmd,  thousand.  Common  words 
in  both  languages  are :  back,  bane,  bed,  spade ;  barn^ 
child  ;  blad,  blade  ;  blek,  black  ;  fader,  father  ;  faedCy 
food ;  fie,  money  ;  fingtir,  finger  ;  foolk,  folks  ;  hcsna, 
hen  ;  hagl,  hail ;  hlaatur,  laughter  ;  Jdaup,  leap  ;  molld, 
mould ;  ol,  ale ;  thif,  thief ;  torf,  turf  ;  and  tumne, 
twine. 

These  examples  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely, 
but  these  few  are  enough  to  show  how  intimately 
connected  are  the  Norse  and  English  languages,  and 
how  necessary  to  the  English  philologist  is  the  study 
of  the  Scandinavian  tongue. 

In  the  preface  to  Mallet's  "Northern  Antiquities," 
may  be   found   the    Lord's    Prayer  in  a  Norse  dia- 


LITERATURE    OF  ICELAND,  24 1 

lect,  which  is  still  intelligible  even  in   the  Orkney- 
islands  :  — 

Favor  ihr  i   Chimrie.    Helieut     ir  Nam  thite.    Gilla  cosdum 
Father  our  in  Heaven.     Hallowed  be  name  thine.    Kingdom 

thite  cumma.     Veya  thine  mota  var  gort  o   Yum  sinna  gort 
thine  come.       Will    thine   may    be    done  on  earth  as       done 

i    Chimrie.    Gav  vus  Da  on  Da  dalight  Brow  vora.    Foigive 
in  Heaven.     Give  us    day  and  day  daily     bread  our.      Forgive 

vus  Sinna      vora  s  n  vee  foigive  Sindara  mutha     vus.     Lyv 
us    offences  our    as    we  forgive  offences  amongst  us.       Lead 

vus  ye    i    Turn  tat  ion.     Min  deli  vera  vus  fro    olt  lit.     Amen. 
us    not  in  temptation.     But  deliver    us    from  all  ill.     Amen. 

The  present  mental  cultivation  of  the  people  is 
very  high.  Education  is  carried  on  at  home  by 
parents  during  the  long  winter  evenings,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  clergymen.  The  common  people 
are  well  acquainted  with  their  own  and  other  national 
histories,  ancient  and  modern  ;  they  know  all  about 
the  early  discovery  of  America  by  the  Northmen,  five 
centuries  before  Columbus,  while  very  few  of  us,  until 
recently,  knew  any  more  of  Iceland  than  we  did  of  the 
South  Pole  or  the  wilds  of  Africa. 

To  show  the  extent  of  the  education  of  the  people, 
and  the  unassuming  character  of  Icelandic  scholars, 
I  will  mention  two  incidents  that  occurred  during  our 
trip,  one  of  which  is  alluded  to  in  Bayard  Taylor's 
recently  published  description  of  it. 

One  of  our  guides,  Geir  by  name,  a  poor,  fatherless 


242  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

boy  of  seventeen,  we  knew  spoke  English  very  well, 
and  when  at  a  loss  for  a  word  or  its  meaning  would 
inquire  what  it  was  in  Latin.  He  then  surprised  Mr. 
Taylor  by  the  question,  "  What  do  you  think  of  Byron 
as  a  poet  t  Is  not  the  song  of  the  spirits,  in  "  Manfred," 
considered  very  fine  1 "  This  lad  spoke  German  about 
as  fluently  as  he  did  English  ;  he  had  read  the  ballads 
of  Schiller,  and  his  "  Robbers,"  and  wanted  to  know 
if  Faust,  which  he  had  heard  was  difficult  to  under- 
stand, was  any  thing  like  in  style  to  Shakspeare,  whose 
"King  Lear"  he  had  read.  What  lad  of  seventeen 
among  us,  with  all  our  boasted  advantages,  could 
stand  by  the  side  of  this  boy,  who  had  never  been  off 
Iceland ! 

A  party  of  Englishmen  who  followed  us  had  en- 
gaged with  some  difficulty  guides  to  the  Geysers,  — 
one  of  them  a  modest,  sedate,  worthy  man,  whose 
movements  were  not  of  so  rapid  a  character,  nor  his 
attentions  so  constant  as  they  thought  they  ought  to 
be ;  they  scolded  at  him,  which  made  him  more  re- 
served and  inattentive,  and  finally  they  became  so 
angry  that  they  swore  at  him.  He  understood  Eng- 
lish perfectly  well,  and  the  moment  he  heard  the 
oaths,  he  was  so  indignant  that  he  turned  round  and 
left  them  to  find  their  way  with  their  other  guide. 
On  asking  him  why  the  man  behaved  so  strangely, 
he  said  that  he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  being  spoken 


LITERATURE    OF  ICELAND.  243 

to  in  such  an  uncivil  manner.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  historians  of  Iceland,  and  had  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  the  strangers  as  a  friend  and  not  as  a  ser- 
vant. 

The  study  of  the  classics  is  very  general,  and  the 
traveller  is,  as  we  were,  often  surprised  to  find  per- 
sons in  humble  life  able  to  converse  in  Latin.  As  a 
type  of  an  Icelandic  scholar  may  be  mentioned  John 
Thorlakson,  who,  beside  being  the  author  of  many 
original  poems,  translated  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost " 
into  Eddaic  verse ;  he  was  poor  and  obliged  to  labor 
for  a  living  ;  though  a  clergyman  for  two  parishes  his 
whole  income  therefrom  was  only  forty  dollars  a  year, 
and  from  this  he  had  to  pay  an  assistant.  In  his 
small,  dark  room,  with  little  hope  that  it  would  ever 
be  published,  this  poor  scholar  executed  his  work, 
which,  for  purity  and  beauty  of  language,  and  gran- 
deur of  imagery  (for  it  is  rather  a  paraphrase  than  a 
translation),  would  put  to  shame  many  publications 
done  up  in  morocco,  gilt,  and  tinted  paper.  He  also 
translated  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man,"  and  Klopstock's 
"Messiah."  He  died  in  18 19.  I  have  also  "Mac- 
beth" translated  into  Icelandic  by  a  native  scholar 
(Matthias  Jochumsson),  published  in  1874. 

It  has  been  stated  that,  owing  to  the  scattered 
population,  public  schools  are  out  of  the  question  in 
Iceland,  the  ordinary  education  of  the  people  being 


244  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

secured  by  teaching  at  home  during  the  long  win- 
ters, seconded  by  the  taste  for  reading  which  is  uni- 
versal. There  is,  however,  a  school  at  Reykjavik  for 
the  advanced  education  of  a  selected  number  of  native 
youth ;  there  is  accommodation  for  about  sixty,  and 
the  pupils  are  carried  as  far  as  in  our  high  schools  ; 
the  class-rooms  are  well  equipped,  and  special  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  the  modern  languages,  Latin,  and 
mathematics.  Being  a  government  institution,  no 
fees  are  charged,  and  only  promising  students  are 
permitted  to  enjoy  its  advantages  ;  those  wishing  to 
prepare  themselves  for  the  learned  professions  of  the 
law,  medicine,  and  theology  pass  on  to  enter  the  uni- 
versity at  Copenhagen. 

There  are  in  the  capital  several  modern  printing- 
presses,  which  do  excellent  work,  both  in  the  way  of 
books  and  newspapers  ;  of  course,  in  a  country  almost 
impassable  for  half  the  year,  news  cannot  travel  very 
fast,  and  the  newspaper  is  not  the  record  of  the  pres- 
ent, every-day  world  that  it  is  with  us  ;  hence,  ac- 
curate information  in  regard  to  the  recent  terrible 
devastation  by  the  volcanic  eruption  in  the  Vatna 
Jokul  region  was  very  slow  in  coming  even  to  the 
capital,  and  still  slower  in  getting  across  the  ice- 
bound ocean  to  Europe ;  several  months  of  great 
suffering  were  passed  before  any  helping  hand  could 
be  raised  from  abroad  for  the  unfortunates. 


LITERATURE    OF  ICELAND.  245 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  their  ap- 
paratus for  popular  education  is  the  library  in  the 
upper  story  of  the  church  at  Reykjavik.  It  contains 
a  few  thousand  volumes,  most  of  them  presents,  in  all 
languages,  especially  Danish,  Icelandic,  and  English  ; 
there  are  no  old  manuscripts  of  any  great  value,  and 
few  costly  books,  the  library  being  for  popular  use, 
on  payment  of  less  than  a  dollar  a  year  ;  the  books 
are  widely  circulated,  and  the  privilege  is  much  prized 
by  the  people.  There  are  many  standard  English 
and  American  works,  especially  in  history,  poetry, 
and  fiction,  with  several  publications  of  the  Arnerican 
government.  Complaints  were  loud  at  the  capital 
that  large  numbers  of  books  sent  by  governments, 
business  houses,  and  private  individuals,  are  stopped 
in  Copenhagen,  and  never  reach  their  destination  in 
Iceland.  There  were  very  large  contributions  sent 
at  the  time  of  the  millennial  celebration,  through  the 
agency  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  it  was  said : 
such  as  went  by  way  of  England  most  likely  arrived  ; 
such  as  passed  into  Denmark  probably  were  somewhat 
curtailed. 

Iceland  has  nothing  to  boast  of  in  the  way  of  art, 
unless  she  may  claim  the  sculptor  Thorwaldsen,  born 
at  sea  of  an  Icelandic  father,  his  grandfather  having 
been  the  parish  priest  at  Miklibaer.  The  baptismal 
font  presented  by  him  to  the  church  at  Reykjavik, 


246  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

and  to  be  seen  there  now,  is  in  the  form  of  a  low 
square  obelisk,  having  in  front  a  representation  of 
the  baptism  of  Jesus ;  on  the  left,  one  of  the  Virgin 
and  Child,  with  the  infant  John  on  her  knee ;  on  the 
right,  Jesus  blessing  little  children  ;  on  the  back  is  a 
group  of  angels  surmounting  the  inscription  :  OpiLS 
hoc  Romce  fecit,  et  Islandice,  terrce  sibi  gentiliacecBy 
pietatis  catisd,  donavit  Albertus  Thorvaldsen,  anno 
MDCCCXXVII. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 
VOLCANIC    HISTORY    OF    ICELAND. 

Extent  of  Jokuls.  —  Trap.  —  Oscillations  of  the  Soil.  — 
Ellborg.  —  Eruffive  Periods.  —  Line  of  Volcanic  Energy. 
—  Number  of  Great  Eruffions.  —  Glaciers.  —  Krabla. — 
Katlugia,  and  its  Floods  of  Water.  —  Skaptar  Jokul. — 
Hecla,  and  its  Eruptions.  —  Ascent  of  Hecla.  —  Vatna 
Jokul,  and  the  Terrible  Eruption  of  1874-75.  —  Destitu- 
tion of  the  People.  —  Forms  of  Lava.  —  Causes  of  Vol- 
canoes. —  Theories  of  Central  Fire,  Chemical  Action, 
and  Accumulations  within  the  Crust  of  the  Earth.  — 
Mallet's  Theory  of  Shrinking  of  the  Crust,  and  Con- 
version of  this  Motion  into  Heat. 

"  Hearken,  thou  craggy  jokul  pyramid  I 
When  were  thy  shoulders  hid  in  icy  streams  ? 
How  long  is  't  since  the  mighty  power  bid 
Thee  heave  to  airy  sleep  from  fathom  dreams  ? 
Thou  answer'st  not,  for  thou  art  dead  asleep ; 
Thy  life  is  but  two  dead  eternities,  — 
The  last  in  air,  the  former  in  the  deep ; 
Drowned  wast  thou  till  an  earthquake  made  thee  steep ; 
Volcanic  Vatna,  with  thy  giant  size  I " 

•^  I  "HE  tract  we  passed  over  on  our  road  to  Thing- 
valla,  was  the  work  of  the  volcano  of  the  Skald 
Breid,  or  Broad  Shield  ;  but  the  whole  island  has,  in  one 
part  or  another,  been  torn  by  volcanic  agency,  and  all 
the  mountains  seem  to  be  in  a  state  of  intermittent 
activity  liable  to  break  out  at  any  time.     The  volcanic 


248  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

history  of  the  island,  therefore,  is  exceedingly  interest- 
ing, but  space  will  not  permit  me  to  enlarge  upon  it. 

Small  as  the  cultivable  land  of  Iceland  must  have 
been  since  its  occupation,  fire,  water,  and  ice  from  its 
jokuls  have  considerably  lessened  it ;  they  are  found 
everywhere,  but  especially  in  the  south-east,  where 
a  mass  of  ice,  with  a  few  interruptions,  rests  on  a 
cluster  of  dormant  volcanic  cones,  occupying  a  space 
of  at  least  three  thousand  square  miles,  and  from 
three  to  six  thousand  feet  high,  among  them  the 
famous  Breidamark,  Oraefa,  and  Skaptar. 

The  oldest  of  the  rocks  is  a  basalt,  or  trap,  hori- 
zontal, upheaved  beneath  the  sea,  probably  toward  the 
end  of  the  tertiary  epoch ;  over  this  a  tufaceous,  less 
solid  and  spongy  trachyte,  which  has  been  thrust  up 
through  the  trap,  and  highest,  the  comparatively 
modern  lavas,  formed  in  the  air,  the  oldest  believed  to 
date  from  the  glacial  period.  Iceland  and  Jan  Meyen 
have  been  the  volcanic  centres  in  the  basin  of  the 
northern  ocean,  Norway  on  the  east  and  Greenland 
on  the  west  showing  the  primitive  rocks  of  gneiss, 
granite,  and  mica  slates.  In  the  trachyte  formation 
are  situated  the  jokuls  and  volcanoes,  in  a  line  running 
from  south-west  to  north-east,  with  numerous  inter- 
ruptions and  outlying  spurs.  The  trap  formation 
covers  more  than  half  the  island,  and  with  an  average 
thickness  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet,  showing: 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        249 

what  an  immense  mass  of  fluid  matter  has  here  issued 
from  the  earth. 

There  have,  probably,  been  several  periods  of  vol- 
canic activity,  though  geologists  differ  as  to  the 
number,  duration,  and  precise  epoch,  during  which 
the  basalts  of  Iceland  and  the  overlying  trachyte,  or 
palagonite  have  been  upheaved.  Indeed,  some  of  the 
characters  of  Iceland  scenery  are  noticed  by  the 
traveller,  whether  he  sail  from  eastern  Scotland,  as 
we  did,  or  from  Norway  ;  the  hills  from  Edinburgh, 
northward,  bear  evidence  in  their  forms  and  structure 
of  volcanic  action,  though  at  a  period  doubtless  ante- 
rior to  the  uplifting  of  Iceland  above  the  sea. 

There  must,  also,  have  been  several  oscillations  of 
the  soil.  Near  Husavik,  in  the  north,  high  up  in  a 
tufaceous  deposit,  is  a  huge  mineralized  whale  skel- 
eton, whose  ribs  are  exposed  ;  and  at  a  height  of  two 
hundred  feet  above  the  present  sea  level  are  beds  of 
the  shell,  Venus  Islandica,  in  immense  numbers.  A 
hundred  yards  inland  is  found  buried  a  dark-colored 
drift-wood,  tough,  but  not  yet  converted  into  lignite, 
of  at  least  ten  different  kinds  from  the  American 
shores.  The  occurrence  of  such  timber  on  the  coasts 
of  Iceland  and  the  Faroes  was  known  in  the  time  of 
Columbus  ;  and  one  would  think  that  his  sagacity 
would  from  that  alone  have  penetrated  the  secret  of  the 
existence  of  "  land  to  the  west."     Within  the  memory 


250  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

of  persons  now  living,  the  coast  on  the  north  and  west 
has  risen  so  as  to  change  navigable  waters  and  fiords 
into  shallow  bays. 

The  first  eruption  of  which  there  is  a  historic 
record,  is  that  of  the  Ellborg,  or  Fortress  of  Fire,  in 
the  western  part  of  the  island,  which  was  active  in 
the  ninth  or  tenth  century ;  it  is  about  one  hundred 
miles  north  of  the  capital  and  fifteen  miles  from  the 
coast.  It  stands  amid  its  lava  ruins,  which  display 
every  shade  of  color,  variety  of  form,  and  degree  of 
roughness,  —  a  vitrified  sea,  looking  as  if  thousands  of 
gigantic  "glass-blowers  had  chosen  this  as  the  scene 
of  their  labors ; "  it  is  a  cinder  and  ash  hill,  about 
six  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  crowned  with  a  fortress 
of  dark  lava,  like  a  giant's  tower,  and  two  hundred  feet 
high. 

In  the  year  looo  occurred  the  eruption  to  the 
south-west  of  Thingvalla,  whose  accompanying  earth- 
quakes were  felt  and  heard  during  the  debate  before 
alluded  to,  which  resulted  in  the  displacement  of 
heathenism  by  Catholicism.  From  this  to  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  Hecla,  and  others  to  the  north 
and  south,  were  active,  with  destructive  earthquakes. 
They  were  quiet  for  more  than  one  hundred  years, 
when,  after  a  short  activity,  occurred  another  period 
of  repose  till  the  eighteenth  century,  in  which  Krabla 
in  the  north,  and  Hecla,  Katlugia,  and  Skaptar  in  the 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         25 1 

south,  were  in  violent  operation.  From  1783  to  1821, 
there  was  quiet,  when  Eyafialla  in  the  south  was 
active  for  six  months,  bursting  its  icy  covering,  and 
deluging  the  surrounding  country  with  water,  mud, 
lava,  and  ashes ;  Katlugia  became  again  eruptive, 
covering  a  thousand  square  miles. 

According  to  the  observations  of  the  experienced 
Dr.  Hjaltalin,  of  Reykjavik,  eruptions  in  Iceland  are 
almost  always  preceded  by  fine  weather.  The  pre- 
ceding earthquake  shocks  always  travel  in  a  north- 
east to  south-west  direction,  or  vice  versd ;  seeming 
to  indicate  that  this  is  the  line  of  volcanic  energy, 
to  whatever  cause  due,  extending  from  Jan  Meyen  on 
the  north  to  the  Azores  on  the  south  ;  this  line  passes 
through  the  Faroes,  the  western  islands  of  Scotland ; 
and  Great  Britain,  extending  southerly  to  the  Cana- 
ries, Cape  de  Verd  islands.  Ascension,  and  St.  Helena 
to  Tristan  d'Acunha  in  the  latitude  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
degrees  of  latitude  on  very  nearly  the  same  meridian. 

No  portion  of  the  world,  except  the  Sandwich  and 
other  Pacific  islands,  has  been  so  often  and  so  terribly 
convulsed  by  volcanoes  as  Iceland.  Hecla  has  erupted 
thirteen  times  since  the  year  1000,  and  Katlugia 
fifteen  times  since  900 ;  and  the  single  or  few  erup- 
tions from  other  volcanoes  have  been  of  unparalleled 
severity,  especially  those  from  the  Skaptar  and  Vatna 


252  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

jokuls,  from  the  region  of  the  last  of  which  burst  out 
the  eruption  of  1874-75,  which  has  desolated  some 
of  the  finest  portions  of  the  island,  as  is  hereafter 
stated. 

In  the  words  of  a  recent  traveller :  "  The  volcanoes 
of  Iceland  belong  to  the  class  known  as  paroxysmal, 
the  most  dangerous  and  treacherous  of  the  whole 
family ;  since,  by  long  periods  of  tranquillity,  con- 
tinued sometimes  through  ages,  they  lure  the  sur- 
rounding inhabitants  into  a  false  idea  of  security,  and 
the  character  of  their  terrible  neighbor  is  at  length 
only  proclaimed  by  the  sudden  outburst,  destructive 
alike  to  life  and  property." 

The  mountains  of  Iceland  are  not  high,  and  their 
shapes  are  well  adapted  for  the  collecting  the  snow 
which  by  its  covering  constitutes  them  "jokuls  ;  "  the 
action  of  the  sun,  and  the  daily  and  monthly  changes 
of  temperature,  soon  convert  the  snow  into  ice.  The 
heavy  accumulation  above  forces  the  lower  portion 
of  the  glacier  thus  formed  through  the  gorges  to  the 
plains,  the  irresistible  ice-plough  tearing  up  the  past- 
ure-lands at  their  base,  an  icy  torrent  in  summer 
pouring  from  the  end.  Should  the  jokul  be  a  slum- 
bering volcano,  as  many  are,  and  the  fiery  energy 
become  active,  floods  of  hot  water,  bearing  ice,  stones, 
and  mud,  overflow  the  surrounding  country,  sweeping 
man  and  his  property  to  destruction.     One  of  these 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF   ICELAND.         253 

ice  fields,  the  Breidaraark,  is  twenty  miles  long,  fifteen 
wide,  and  four  hundred  feet  high,  occupying  what 
was  prior  to  the  fourteenth  century  a  fertile,  thickly 
inhabited  plain.  The  masses  of  debris  thus  scattered 
over  the  country  have  done  incalculable  mischief, 
desolating  whole  regions.  The  influence  of  these  icy 
masses  on  the  climate  of  the  island  has  been  alluded 
to,  and  in  an  uncommonly  cold  and  wet  season  their 
increase  is  a  national  disaster,  destroying  the  short 
summer,  and  with  it  all  food  for  domestic  animals. 
These  eruptions  are  not  confined  to  the  land,  but 
extend  far  into  the  ocean ;  the  Westmann  islands,  in 
the  range  of  the  southern  chain  of  jokuls,  are  almost 
all  lava  ;  as  are  Cape  Kejkianess  and  the  adjacent 
islands,  the  continuation  of  the  northern  chain.  There 
have  been  great  and  sudden  changes  near  the  coast, 
and  in  1783  an  island  rose  from  the  sea,  disappearing 
during  a  violent  earthquake  in  the  following  year. 

Krabla  in  the  north,  like  Hecla  in  the  south,  has 
made  its  own  crater  by  successive  eruptions  ;  it  is 
surrounded  on  the  plains  by  pits  of  boiling,  sulphur- 
ous mud,  evidently  in  old  craters,  one  described  by 
Henderson  being  three  hundred  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, —  horrible  to  look  at,  and  dangerous  to  approach 
from  the  fetid  gases,  soft  earth,  and  numerous  pit- 
falls ;  it  was  believed  by  the  natives  to  communicate 
with  the  infernal  regions,  and  was  named  accordingly. 


254  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

This  was  concerned  in  one  of  the  most  violent  and 
prolonged  eruptions  that  has  desolated  the  country, 
raging  for  five  years,  from  1724  to  1730.  After  a 
period  of  quiet  for  centuries,  its  old  lava  being  over- 
grown with  moss,  it  suddenly  burst  out,  its  floods 
dividing  into  many  arms,  going  along  the  valleys  in 
various  directions,  the  largest  stream  being  fourteen 
miles  long  and  two  wide,  entering  a  large  lake,  killing 
all  the  fish,  and  making  it  boil  for  many  days  ;  burn- 
ing up  houses  and  grass  lands,  but  turned  aside  by 
trifling  obstacles  ;  attended  by  sulphurous  gases,  and 
glowing  at  night  with  lurid  flames  ;  forming  galleries 
and  caverns  hung  with  stalactites,  from  the  upper 
crust  hardening,  and  the  fluid  parts  flowing  out  un- 
derneath ;  the  appearances,  and  singularly  enough 
the  name,  stein-c^^,  being  the  same  as  in  the  erup- 
tions of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Katlugia,  with  its  present  icy  covering,  looks  calmly 
down  on  its  ruin  of  centuries  of  intermittent  activity ; 
it  not  only  destroyed  man  and  beast,  but  covered  up 
their  dwelling-places  by  successive  deluges  of  water, 
bearing  ice  and  ashes  ;  throwing  out  its  lava  streams 
into  the  sea,  and  producing  islands,  since  broken  up 
by  submarine  convulsions  into  dangerous  rocks  and 
shoals. 

Again  in  1755,  a  year  celebrated  for  volcanic  and 
earthquake  disturbance  all  the  world  over,  —  the  year 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         255 

in  which  Lisbon  was  destroyed  —  this  volcano  burst 
forth  with  its  floods  of  hot  water,  bearing  masses  of 
ice  and  rock,  overwhelming  more  than  fifty  farms 
spared  by  the  previous  eruption ;  the  air  was  filled 
with  stifling  smoke,  ^nd  the  thick  clouds  of  ashes 
enveloped  the  country  in  darkness,  leaving  the  soil 
covered  with  a  waste  of  sand,  gravel,  and  lava  blocks, 
more  destructive,  because  more  widely  spread,  than 
the  streams  of  fiery  lava.  The  plains  have  to  some 
presented  the  appearances  left  by  the  drift  of  the 
glacial  period,  boulders  and  all,  but  they  have  been 
produced  by  the  above  agency  of  water,  and  not  by 
ice. 

The  true  glacier,  however,  we  have  seen,  exists  in 
Iceland,  descending  from  the  jokuls  into  the  plains, 
polishing  the  underlying  rocks,  with  a  moraine  at  their 
extremity. 

The  eruption  of  Katlugia,  in  1869,  was  described 
by  an  eyewitness  in  the  Islendingur  newspaper,  pub- 
lished in  Reykjavik.  It  began  on  May  8th,  in  the 
morning  by  earthquakes,  which  occurred  at  intervals 
during  the  day,  followed  by  a  rush  of  water  from  the 
volcano  in  the  afternoon.  On  the  9th,  smoke  was 
seen  on  the  mountain,  accompanied  by  a  fall  of  ashes  ; 
on  the  loth,  its  pumice  reached  the  sea-shore ;  on  the 
nth,  the  streams  of  water  increased,  and  fire  was 
visible  at  night,  the  showers  of  ashes  continuing,  and, 


256  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

for  the  next  three  days,  frost  occurring  every  night. 
So  much  sand  was  poured  into  the  sea,  that  it  formed 
banks  in  fifteen  fathoms  of  water ;  immense  pieces  of 
ice  were  brought  down  by  the  flood  and  stranded  in 
the  sea.  The  snow  was  all  melted  off,  and  the  moun- 
tain for  some  time  looked  black.  The  eruption  lasted 
three  weeks,  doing  no  great  harm,  except  covering 
considerable  meadow  land  with  sand. 

The  characteristics  of  the  eruptions  of  Katlugia  are 
the  little  or  no  lava,  and  the  immense  floods  of  water 
thrown  out.  It  is  maintained  that  this  water  does 
not  come  from  the  inside  of  the  crater,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  geyser,  as  flame  and  water  could  not  coexist  in 
the  same  cavity ;  but  that  it  is  due  to  the  sudden 
melting,  by  subterranean  heat,  of  the  vast  masses  of 
ice  and  snow  covering  the  volcanoes  of  Iceland,  as  of 
other  snowy  regions,  in  this  particular  instance,  an 
accumulation  of  nearly  one  hundred  years. 

This  explanation  is  not  in  all  cases  entirely  satis- 
factory, inasmuch  as  other  volcanoes,  having  no 
covering  of  snow,  have  poured  out  floods  of  water ;  in 
1 63 1,  several  villages,  with  Torre  del  Greco,  were 
destroyed  by  a  torrent  of  boiling  water  accompanying 
the  lava  of  Vesuvius ;  in  Sicily,  in  1 790,  several 
fissures  sent  forth  water,  with  sulphur  and  other  vol- 
canic products  ;  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  and 
even  in  Iceland,  water  has  been  known  to  issue  from 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         2^/ 

volcanoes  uncovered  by  snow  or  ice.  But  in  all  these 
cases,  there  must  be  some  reservoir  in  which  the 
water  is  stored,  whether  from  melting  snows  or  sur- 
face streams,  and  let  loose,  more  or  less  heated,  at  the 
time  of  the  eruption.  In  such  cases  as  Katlugia,  the 
immense  floods  suddenly  poured  forth,  could  hardly 
be  accounted  for  by  the  melting  of  its  icy  covering, 
and  the  reservoir  theory  would  seem  entitled  to 
consideration  as  an  accessory  explanation. 

This  volcano  has  had  nine  of  these  hot- water  erup- 
tions since  its  occupation  by  the  Northmen,  the 
destructive  one  of  1775  occurring  after  a  delusive 
quiet  of  thirty-five  years,  and  completely  overflowing 
Myrdalsand  ;  fifty  farms,  soil,  houses,  churches,  cattle, 
horses,  and  men  were  actually  swept  out  to  sea ; 
those  whose  lives  were  saved  were  not  only  deprived 
of  all  their  possessions,  but  the  very  soil  was  carried 
away,  as  if  the  demon  of  destruction  was  determined 
to  drive  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  most  destructive  of  all  the  eruptions  on  record 
was  that  from  the  Skaptar  jokul,  eighty  miles  east  of 
Hecla,  about  the  middle  of  June,  1783,  preceded  by 
violent  earthquakes  all  along  the  southern  coast.  It 
burst  out  with  great  fury,  drying  up  the  river  in 
twenty-four  hours,  and  filling  its  bed  ;  the  lava  in 
some  places  six  hundred  feet  deep  and  two  hundred 
wide,  flowing  like  a  mighty  river   toward    the   sea, 

Q 


258  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

wrapping  whole  districts  in  flames,  remelting  old 
lavas,  opening  subterranean  caverns,  one  of  its 
streams  reaching  the  ocean ;  it  was  in  full  activity  for 
two  months  and  a  half,  and  did  not  cease  entirely  for 
six  months  more.  It  took  the  lava  more  than  two 
years  to  cool ;  one  stream  was  fifty  miles  long,  twelve 
to  fifteen  broad  on  the  plain,  and  from  one  to  six 
hundred  feet  deep  ;  another  was  forty  miles  long  and 
seven  wide ;  pasture  lands  one  hundred  miles  around 
were  destroyed  by  the  pumice,  sand,  and  ashes ; 
the  matter  ejected  has  been  estimated  at  twice  the 
volume  of  Mount  Hecla,  or  one  hundred  thousand 
millions  of  cubic  yards,  probably  as  large  as  any  single 
mass  of  the  older  igneous  rocks  known  to  exist ; 
according  to  Bischoff,  greater  than  the  bulk  of  Mont 
Blanc.  Man,  his  cattle,  houses,  churches,  and  grass 
lands  were  burned  up  ;  noxious  vapors  filled  the  air, 
and  the  earth  was  shrouded  by  clouds  of  ashes ; 
cattle  deprived  of  grass,  and  man  of  fish,  perished  in 
great  numbers.  At  a  moderate  calculation,  more 
than  twelve  hundred  human  beings,  twenty  thousand 
horses,  seven  thousand  cattle,  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  sheep  perished  in  this  single  erup- 
tion. 

The  Oraefa  jokul,  near  the  south-east  coast,  not  far 
from  the  place  where  Ingolf  landed  in  Iceland,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  ninth  century,  the  highest  peak  in 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF   ICELAND.         259 

the  island,  was  the  scene  of  a  frightful  eruption  in 
1727. 

Mount  Hecla  presents  a  great  variety  of  forms, 
according  to  the  point  of  view  of  the  observer,  but 
always  deserves  its  name  of  "  cloaked,"  having  usually 
a  mantle  of  snow,  and  very  often  of  clouds  also.  The 
plain  from  which  it  rises  is  a  very  fertile  one,  and 
contains  more  farms  than  any  other  region  of  equal 
size.  Its  barren  and  sandy  portions,  the  work  of 
the  volcano,  are  strewn  with  rounded  pebbles,  worn 
by  the  rapidly  shifting  waters,  the  great  rainfall,  and 
the  attrition  of  the  wind-blown  sand. 

The  view  of  Mount  Hecla  from  our  geyser  camp 
was  exceedingly  fine,  and  some  of  our  party  would 
willingly  have  tried  to  make  the  ascent,  which,  though 
difficult,  cannot  be  called  dangerous.  There  are 
several  accounts  of  this  feat,  one  by  Madame  Pfeiffer, 
in  1845,  and  by  several  persons  since.  But  the  inex- 
orable demands  of  newspaper  correspondents,  added 
to  the  obstacles,  real  and  imaginary,  stated  to  be  in 
the  way,  such  as  tortuous  and  difficult  paths,  swollen 
rivers,  depth  of  snow,  treacherous  bogs,  and  the  evi- 
dent indisposition  of  the  guides,  perhaps  from  super- 
stitious fears,  to  make  the  attempt,  compelled  us  to 
turn  our  backs  upon  this  snowy  monarch  of  Iceland. 

Hecla  is  neither  the  highest  nor  the  most  remark- 
able of  these  volcanoes  ;  but  it  has  attracted  the  most 


26o  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

attention,  both  from  natives  and  strangers,  from  its 
situation  near  the  most  frequented  part  of  the  island, 
its  frequent  and  disastrous  eruptions,  and  its  com- 
parative ease  of  access.  Though  only  about  five 
thousand  feet  high,  with  a  circumference  of  twenty- 
five  miles,  it  is  one  of  the  three  great  volcanoes  of 
Europe,  the  others  being  Vesuvius  and  Etna.  It  is 
isolated,  about  thirty-five  miles  inland,  and,  in  clear 
weather,  can  be  seen  from  the  ocean.  It  is  made  up 
of  tufaceous  slag,  ashes,  and  pumice,  cemented  by 
its  own  lava  streams,  and  underlaid  by  a  ridge  of 
palagonite,  itself  the  result  of  submarine  volcanic 
action.  It  is  a  member  of  a  ridge  of  vast  extent, 
belonging  to  the  class  of  volcanoes  arranged  in  linear 
series,  the  crater  changing  along  the  extent  of  the 
volcanic  fissure.  It  is  enclosed  in  a  circle  of  lava 
hills,  but  far  higher  than  these,  and  is  surrounded  by 
untrod  glaciers  and  dazzling  snow-fields  ;  the  earth 
around  seems  undermined  and  footsteps  on  the  plain 
produce  a  hollow  sound.  The  cone  appeared  to  us 
quite  regular,  the  sides  at  an  angle  of  about  35°  ;  it  is 
said  to  have  three  peaks,  the  central  one  the  highest. 
The  craters  are  hollows  in  the  sides,  which,  with  the 
whole  mountain,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  were  com- 
pletely covered  with  snow  ;  its  sides  are  rent  with  deep 
chasms,  and  numerous  cones  stud  the  plain,  attesting 
the  great  violence  of  its  action. 


VOLCANIC  HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.        261 

There  is  no  record  of  its  eruptions  before  the  tenth 
century  ;  but  their  number  has  been  twenty-five,  with 
an  average  interval  of  thirty-five  years,  the  shortest 
being  six  and  the  longest  eighty  years.  The  eruption 
of  1766  was  very  violent;  after  a  remarkably  mild 
winter,  it  began  in  April  to  pour  out  sand,  stones,  and 
pumice,  some  of  the  latter,  six  feet  in  circumference, 
having  been  thrown  fifteen  miles ;  the  sand  was  car- 
ried by  the  wind  to  the  north-west,  covering  the  land 
one  hundred  miles  around  four  inches  deep,  impeding 
the  boats  along  the  coast,  and  at  noonday  making  it 
dark  as  night ;  at  noon  the  wind  changed  to  south-east, 
conveying  it  to  the  central  desert,  or  the  pastures  in 
the  west  part  of  the  island  would  have  been  entirely 
destroyed.  The  lava  began  to  flow  in  five  days,  ex- 
tending five  miles  to  the  south-west,  and  the  ejection 
of  water,  sand,  and  stones,  with  loud  reports,  did  not 
cease  till  July.  Around  it  was  a  fertile  plain,  buried 
by  this  eruption  under  lava,  cinders,  and  ashes,  for  an 
extent  of  ten  miles  ;  the  ruins  of  the  houses  tell  of 
the  fearful  destruction  at  this  time,  the  streams  not 
being  confined  to  the  mountain,  but  ejected  from 
many  smaller  openings  in  the  plain  at  its  base. 

The  last  eruption  was  in  1845,  which  was  also 
preceded  by  a  very  mild  winter,  perhaps  from  the 
intensity  of  the  fiery  action  beneath.  It  began  Sep- 
tember 2,  with   great  darkness,  showers  of  stones, 


262  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

sand,  and  ashes,  and  loud  smothered  reports  heard 
many  miles  away.  The  ashes  were  conveyed  by  the 
wind  as  far  as  the  Orkneys,  more  than  six  hundred 
miles.  The  eruption  lasted,  with  occasional  intervals, 
seven  months ;  the  lava  streams,  though  very  large, 
committed  no  devastation,  as  most  of  their  course 
was  over  a  region  uninhabited  from  previous  desola- 
tion from  the  same  source.  There  were  five  craters 
along  the  ridge,  three  large  and  two  small,  the  former 
being  about  three  hundred  feet  deep. 

Madame  Pfeiffer  found  the  ascent  rough  and  diffi- 
cult, and  it  was  none  the  less  so  fifteen  years  after- 
ward ;  and,  having  surmounted  it,  she  saw  nothing 
but  an  immeasurable  chaos  of  black  lava  and  dazzling 
snow,  whose  contrast  was  very  painful  to  the  eyes. 
All  agree  that  there  is  no  summit  crater,  the  lava 
having  flowed  from  the  great  fissures  on  the  sides,  as 
if  the  honeycombed  rock  could  not  support  a  column 
of  .heavy  lava  five  thousand  feet  in  height.  On  ac- 
count of  the  clouds  which  surround  it,  a  good  view 
is  rare  ;  and  most  travellers  would  think  it  hardly 
worth  while  to  undergo  the  fatigue  merely  to  see  a 
scene  of  desolation,  however  extensive,  —  a  lifeless 
panorama  of  lava,  glaciers,  lakes,  and  rivers,  with  no 
trace  of  the  works  of  man. 

Captain  Forbes,  in  1859,  found  it  difficult  of  ascent, 
from  the  sharp  masses  at  the  base,  the  snow  and  ice 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         263 

higher  up,  the  steepness  of  the  ledges,  and  the  loose 
materials  on  their  sides.  He  ascended  the  middle  or 
highest  cone,  which  is  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  in 
length  in  a  north-east  and  south-west  direction,  and 
eighty  yards  across.  Happening  to  ascend  on  a  clear 
day,  he  enjoyed  a  most  extensive  view  :  including 
the  geysers  in  the  north-west,  the  glittering  blue  icy 
domes  of  the  jokuls  to  the  north,  the  terrible  Skaptar 
to  the  north-east,  and  the  interminable  and  untrodden 
icy  regions  beyond ;  to  the  south  the  blue  ocean,  and 
the  Westmann  Islands,  fifty  miles  distant ;  to  the  west 
the  dark  cliffs  of  Thingvalla,  —  as  he  says,  "  the  whole 
forming  a  panoramic  view  unsurpassed,  either  for  in- 
terest or  beauty,  being  one  of  the  most  extensive  and 
varied  of  any  in  the  world." 

Attention  has  recently  been  drawn,  by  the  terrific 
eruption  of  1874-75,  to  the  Vatna  or  Klofa  jokul,  in 
the  south-east  of  Iceland,  This  comprises  a  vast 
assemblage  of  mountains,  covered  with  eternal  snows, 
whose  glaciers  discharge  themselves  into  the  sea  on 
the  south  ;  the  region  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
miles  long  and  sixty  miles  wide.  This  great  district 
of  volcano  and  snow  is  surrounded  by  high  moun- 
tains, among  which  are  the  Hofs,  Oraefa,  and  Skaptar 
jokuls,  —  a  nest  of  slumbering  monsters,  the  centres 
of  terrible  eruptions.  The  northern  fringe  is  hardly 
known,  as  it  meets  the  immense  tract  of  "  Odatha- 


264  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

hraun/'  the  "  horrid  lava,"  of  about  six  thousand 
square  miles,  between  two  great  rivers  flowing  north, 
and  extending  to  Lake  Myvatn  on  the  north ;  in  this 
black  stony  sea  rise  up  island-like  mountains,  whence 
the  lava  has  proceeded.  To  the  west  are  the  great 
sand  deserts,  destitute  of  vegetation  ;  and  to  the  east, 
also,  dreary  barren  wastes,  with  here  and  there  a 
patch  of  grass.  The  region  is  almost  unknown,  but 
is  believed  to  contain,  in  its  northern  portion,  several 
volcanoes  always  moderately  active,  and  many  more 
in  the  southern  portions  paroxysmal"  and  extremely 
violent,  from  which  the  last  eruption  has  principally 
proceeded. 

From  the  London  papers  it  appears  that  the  erup- 
tion began  at  Christmas,  though  for  seven  weeks 
before  the  people  had  been  alarmed  by  subterranean 
noises  like  thunder  extending  through  more  than  half 
of  the  island.  Early  in  January  followed  earthquakes 
in  all  directions,  and  at  last  an  old  extinct  volcano 
near  Vatnajokul  opened,  and  for  four  weeks  con- 
tinued to  eject  immense  quantities  of  lava,  ashes,  and 
a  muddy  fluid  mass  at  boiling  heat.  The  village  and 
hamlets  and  farms  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles 
were  destroyed,  and  over  a  thousand  people  had  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  After  four  weeks  this  volcano 
ceased,  but  at  the  same  time  another  extinct  volcano, 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  away,  near  Myvatn,  sent  its 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         26$ 

burning  mass  upon  the  country  around.  This  erup- 
tion lasted  for  several  weeks,  the  village  of  Myvatn 
was  destroyed,  and  the  whole  region  for  more  than 
fifty  miles  around  was  devastated.  More  than  eight 
hundred  of  the  people  are  reported  as  having  been 
rendered  homeless.  Early  in  March  there  seemed  to 
be  a  general  upheaval  of  the  earth  in  the  whole  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  island ;  new  mounds,  as  it  were, 
rose  to  the  surface,  some  to  a  height  of  several  hun- 
dred feet,  and  over  a  thousand  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
base,  amid  tremendous  shocks  of  thundering  beneath. 
They  split  open  at  the  top  and  vomited  forth  their 
burning  contents  upon  the  surface  around  them,  cov- 
ering a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles.  Ten  thousand 
people  are  said  to  have  lost  nearly  all  their  posses- 
sions, and  the  remainder,  who  live  nearer  to  and 
along  the  coasts,  are  themselves  too  poor  to  support 
such  a  vast  number  of  needy  people.  Several  hun- 
dred persons  arc  also  reported  to  have  perished. 
The  world-renowned  Geysers  are  said  to  have  dried 
up  since  the  terrible  eruption  began,  and,  instead  of 
water,  to  emit  immense  quantities  of  hot  smoke  and 
ashes,  which,  during  the  night,  rising  very  high  into 
the  air,  appear  like  gigantic  columns  of  flameless  fire, 
visible  for  hundreds  of  miles.  It  is  said  that  no  his- 
toric record  of  any  volcanic  eruption  anywhere  in  the 
world  compares  with    this,  either  in  territory  over 


266  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

which  it  extends,  the  number  of  newly-opened  cra- 
ters, or  the  time  of  its  duration.  The  Copenhagen 
Government  has  issued  an  appeal  for  aid  to  the 
sufferers. 

Another  report  says,  speaking  of  the  eruption  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Myvatn,  that  on  the  second  of 
February  columns  of  fire,  lava,  and  stones  were  shot 
straight  up  into  the  air  to  a  great  height  and  fell  back 
into  the  crater,  or  in  so  narrow  a  circumference  out- 
side it  that  the  formation  of  new  lava  only  extended 
twelve  miles  from  north-west  to  south-east.  From 
the  sides  of  the  ravine,  at  a  point  as  near  as  they 
could  get  from  the  burning  lava,  members  of  an  ex- 
ploring party  could  see  down  through  the  volcanic 
fissures  the  lurid  flames,  like  rivers  of  fire,  rushing  in 
wild  confusion. 

To  show  the  distance  to  which  volcanic  materials 
may  be  carried  by  the  wind,  it  is  stated  that  on  the 
morning  of  the  30th  of  March,  the  west  coast  of  Nor- 
way, up  to  the  Swedish  border,  was  found  covered 
with  a  pretty  thick  layer  of  dust,  which  had  fallen 
during  the  previous  night.  It  lay  so  thick  that  less 
than  a  pint  of  snow,  scraped  together  and  put  into  a 
glass  to  melt,  left  a  tablespoonful  of  the  atmospheric 
precipitate.  Under  the  microscope,  this  dust  appeared 
as  irregular,  small  grained  and  sharp-cornered  ashes, 
for  the  greater  part  colorless,  but  some  pieces  had  a 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         267 

brownish  tinge.  Under  chemical  treatment  it  turned 
out  to  be  a  combination  of  silicates,  the  bases  of  the 
compound  varying.  Lime,  iron,  and  alumina  were 
extracted  by  treatment  with  acids.  Professor  Waage 
at  once  declared  that  the  precipitate  must  be  ashes 
from  some  volcanic  eruption  carried  across  to  Nor- 
way, probably  from  Iceland. 

Professor  Magnusson,  sub-librarian  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Cambridge,  England,  a  native  of  Iceland,  and 
our  companion  to  the  "  Millennial  Celebration,"  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  "  London  Times  "  on  this  subject,  from 
which  the  following  are  extracts,  showing  the  duty  of 
Denmark,  Great  Britain,  and,  perhaps,  of  America,  in 
this  great  misfortune  which  has  befallen  his  country- 
men :  — 

"  Iceland  has  this  year  been  visited  by  a  calamity  in  the 
shape  of  a  volcano  eruption  (in  character  and  .extent  ahnost 
identical  with  that  of  1783,  which  proved  the  death  of 
fourteen  thousand  human  beings),  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences of  which  will  be  famine  and  destruction  of  human 
life  on  a  large  scale,  unless  timely  aid  should  be  forth- 
coming. A  large  number  of  the  most  prosperous  country 
districts  in  the  island  was  laid  waste  in  the  course  of  four 
hours  last  Easter  Monday,  by  t>eing  covered  with  scori- 
aceous  sand,  pumice,  and  volcanic  ashes.  The  inhabitants 
have  had  to  fly  for  life,  with  their  stock,  into  districts 
not  yet  affected,  the  pastures  of  which  have  been  chari- 
tably placed  at  their  disposal  by  the  respective  owners ; 


268  AN   AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

but,  being  many  times  over-stocked,  they  are  beginning 
already  to  yield  only  famishing  sustenance.  In  private 
letters  which  I  have  just  received  from  the  distressed 
parts,  it  is  calculated  that  pastures  to  the  extent  of  from 
two  thousand  five  hundred  to  three  thousand  square  miles 
have  been  destroyed,  which  supplied  the  necessary  food 
for  forty  thousand  sheep,  two  thousand  cattle,  and  three 
thousand  horses.  The  spread  of  the  distress  into  those 
very  districts,  whose  charity  is  supporting  the  first  suf- 
ferers, is  itself  increasing  the  evil  to  an  alarming  extent ; 
so  that  any  aid,  to  be  effectual,  must  make  provision, 
not  only  for  the  instant  wants  of  the  people,  but  also  for 
the  ensuing  winter,  as  all  prospect  of  a  hay  harvest  (the 
only  harvest  known  in  Iceland)  is  gone  for  this  year  in  the 
immediately  aifected  districts,  and  is  largely  impaired  in  the 
invaded  ones.  Food  and  fodder  being  immediately  required 
for  the  starving  herds,  it  is  proposed,  should  this  appeal 
be  liberally  responded  to,  as  I  sincerely  hope  it  will  be, 
to  charter  a  special  steamer  at  the  earliest  possible  date 
to  convey  direct  to  the  country,  as  a  first  instalment  of 
English  charity,  such  stores  as  are  absolutely  necessary 
at  this  moment.  .  .  .  The  unmanured  bog  lands,  which 
ordinarily  yield  the  hay  harvest  for  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep, 
are  quite  useless  this  year.  During  May  and  June,  these 
lands  are  generally  flooded  by  the  rivers  which  are  fed  by 
the  waters  from  the  thawing  snows  on  the  mountains. 
The  fall  of  the  ashes  having  covered  the  snow  just  before 
it  began  to  thaw,  the  waters  pouring  down  from  the 
melting  snows  have  carried  with  them  into  these  very 
grass-lands  enormous  masses  of  the  pumice  and  the  ashes, 
and  deposited  them   over  the  lands  in  so  thick  a  layer 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF   ICELAND,         269 

that  all  hope  of  any  hay  harvest  from  them  this  year  is 
quite  out  of  the  question,  and  it  is  feared  that  for  years 
to  come  the  result  will  be  similar.  But  more  than  this. 
The  excellent  pastures  in  these  parts  are  principally  sup- 
plied by  the  many  mountain  hollows,  small  valleys,  and 
other  sheltered  spots  which  abound  in  these  mountainous 
districts,  and  these  are  the  very  places  into  which  the 
winds  have  blown  the  ashes  in  deep  heaps,  where  they 
must  remain,  no  one  can  tell  how  long,  choking  the 
verdure  and  consequently  destroying  the  pasture  for 
years." 

Cattle  will  have  to  be  slaughtered  for  want  of  food, 
and  the  consequent  increased  use  of  salted  meat,  and 
the  deprivation  of  milk,  will  tend  to  develop  the  fear- 
ful diseases  which  follow  in  the  train  of  scurvy. 

Much  as  the  Icelanders  love  their  country,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how,  even  with  prompt  assistance  from 
the  mother  country  and  still  nearer  England,  many  of 
them  will  be  able  to  avoid  emigration.  The  proposed 
American  colony  may  receive  large  accessions  from 
this  catastrophe  ;  though,  from  the  last  accounts,  this 
colonization  seems  most  likely  to  be  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  United  States,  let  us  hope  that  a  more  genial 
climate,  more  fertile  soil,  and  more  civilized  neighbors, 
may  yet  tempt  them  into  our  north-western  states. 
We  have  a  plenty  of  financial,  political,  and  religious 
earthquakes  here,  which  need  give  no  alarm  to  an 
industrious,  independent,  and  thinking  people ;   and 


270  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

mother  earth  is  here  sufficiently  stable  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes. 

Lava,  wherever  occurring,  seems  to  be  of  the  same 
general  characters.  I  have  seen  the  lava  of  the  Sand- 
vi^ich  islands,  boiling  in  its  fury  in  the  lake  at  Kilauea, 
Hawaii,  and  have  travelled  over  many  a  mile  of  its  hard- 
ened crust  and  volcanic  sand ;  and  the  same  appear- 
ances I  saw  in  Iceland :  the  lavas  of  Vesuvius,  Etna, 
and  Fusiyama,  and  those  from  the  Philippine  islands 
and  Java  do  not  apparently  differ. 

There  are  three  kinds  described :  i.  Smooth,  with 
a  glassy  crust,  which  cools  into  all  imaginable  folded 
and  twisted  forms  ;  this  is  the  most  common,  and 
occurs  when  the  flow  passes  over  rocks  or  dry  earth 
at  a  gentle  slope,  as  on  the  road  to  the  geysers.  2. 
Clinkers  or  scoriaceous  lava,  rough  and  fragmentary, 
found  where  the  course  of  the  stream  has  been  im- 
peded by  obstacles  or  inequalities  of  the  ground,  or 
where  the  heat  causes  the  explosion  of  caverns  in 
former  flows  over  which  it  passes,  as  seen  in  the 
valley  of  Thingvalla.  3.  The  spongy  or  "horrid" 
lava,  whose  extreme  roughness  and  hardness  must  be 
seen  and  felt  to  be  appreciated  :  its  jagged  mass  is 
broken  into  needles,  ridges,  and  crests,  like  the  ice  of 
a  glacier,  or  the  slag  of  a  furnace  ;  this  seems  to  occur 
when  the  lava  meets  with  an  impediment  which  gives 
way  just  as  the  lava  is  granulated,  rolling  the  spongy 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         2/1 

mass  over,  and  raising  huge  piles  from  which  the 
liquid  portion  drains  away,  where  it  has  very  suddenly 
cooled,  or  has  been  broken  up  after  consolidation  by 
subsequent  underground  flows.  It  is  not  always  easy 
to  draw  the  line  between  the  last  two  forms,  and,  in 
Iceland,  they  generally  occur  together.  The  best 
idea  I  can  give  of  the  appearance  of  this  rough  lava, 
is  to  refer  to  the  piles  of  dirty  snow  from  the  streets 
placed  on  Boston  Common  during  the  winter  ;  after  a 
day  or  two  of  exposure  to  the  sun,  the  rounded  forms 
are  lost,  and  jagged  and  irregular  ridges  and  peaks 
make  their  appearance :  if  this  rough  mass  could  be 
at  once  changed  into  black  lava,  one  will  have,  on  a 
small  scale,  a  tolerably  good  representation  of  the  last 
two  varieties,  and  understand  the  difficulty  and  danger 
of  attempting  to  pass  over  them. 

Lava  is  very  capricious  in  its  movements  —  some- 
times overwhelming  every  thing;  at  others,  turned 
aside  by  slight  obstacles  —  sometimes  forming  huge 
bubbles,  which  remain  as  dangerous  pitfalls,  or  as 
caverns  much  used  in  Iceland  for  sheepfolds, — 
but  every  where,  when  recent,  black,  hard,  water- 
less, hot  from  the  sun,  and  indescribably  dismal 
looking. 

This  frequent  and  far-extended  series  of  outpourings 
of  lava  impresses  upon  the  scenery  a  desolation,  bar- 
renness, and  blackness,  which,  in  the  cold  climate  of 


2/2  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Iceland,  Nature  refuses  to  cover  with  vegetation ; 
hence  the  primitive  ugliness  is  in  most  cases  perma- 
nent. The  country  generally  looks  as  if  it  had  been 
passed  out  of  an  infernal  laboratory,  every  thing 
organic  having  been  burned  and  boiled  out  of  it,  leav- 
ing behind  an  interminable  expanse  of  rough,  unin- 
habitable slag. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  with  the 
political  and  commercial  disadvantages  under  which 
they  labor,  that  the  people  have  little  heart  to  improve 
their  condition  ;  famine,  fire,  and  pestilence  are  not  cal- 
culated for  progress.  The  wonder  is  that  this  remnant 
of  the  Norsemen  have  saved  themselves  from  deteri- 
oration ;  and  that  they  have  even  stood  still  for  cent- 
uries, in  face  of  such  terrible  elemental  foes,  preserving 
their  physical  vigor,  mental  independence,  and  love  of 
country,  is  a  historic  marvel. 

Iceland  is  probably  situated  over  the  line  of  a  long 
fissure  in  the  earth's  crust,  or  series  of  fissures,  ex- 
tending from  Jan  Meyen  to  St.  Helena,  this  being,  as 
before  stated,  evidently  the  line  of  volcanic  energy. 

From  whatever  source  the  heat  be  derived,  the 
action  of  the  sea  has  greatly  modified  the  ejected 
lavas,  which,  on  their  appearance  above  the  water, 
have  been  much  changed  by  glaciers  and  the  floods 
resulting  from  their  sudden  melting.  The  fiords  thus 
caused  afford  some  very  fine  and  wild  scenery,  and 


VOLCANIC    HISTORY    OF   ICEI.AXD.         2/3 

the  lava-bound  shores  have  been  shaped  by  flic  waves 
into  the  most  rugged  and  fantastic  forms. 

There  are  four  principal  theories  of  the  cause  of 
volcanoes,  as  follows  :  — 

I.  The  oldest  and  most  natural  explanation  was 
that  the  molten  contents  of  the  interior  of  the  earth 
in  this  way  escaped  ;  the  volcano  being  a  kind  of 
safety-valve  which  prevented  too  great  a  laceration 
of  the  thin,  inhabited  crust  over  the  fiery  centre. 
The  phenomena  of  boiling  and  mineral  springs,  the 
escape  of  heated  gases,  and  the  gradual  increase  of 
temperature  of  i°  Fahr.  for  every  sixty  feet  or 
thereabouts  of  descent  below  the  surface,  seemed  to 
confirm  this  view.  But  the  recent  researches  of  as- 
tronomers, physicists,  chemists,  and  geologists  have 
so  shaken  this  hypothesis,  that  it  may  be  stated,  I 
think,  without  exaggeration,  that  few  first-class  geolo- 
gists now  believe  in  the  central  fluidity  of  the  earth  ; 
but  rather  that  the  centre  is  solid,  and  that  solidifica- 
tion of  necessity  commenced  with  the  centre.  There 
may  be  heat  there,  which  some  also  doubt,  but  a  so- 
lidity at  least  that  of  glass,  probably  that  of  steel. 

2.  The  hypothesis  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  of  chem- 
ical action  from  oxidation  of  minerals  and  inflammable 
earths  and  materials,  from  the  action  of  water.  All 
the  hypotheses  seem  to  require  the  action  of  water; 
and  it  is  a  sin^ailar  fact  in  confirmation  of  its  neces- 

12*  K 


2/4  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

sary  presence,  that  volcanoes,  in  present  and  past 
ages,  are  either  along  the  edge  of  continents,  in  the 
ocean,  or  in  interior  basins  communicating  with  an 
ample  supply  of  water.  Chemical  action  in  the  ma- 
jority of  such  cases  would  absorb,  rather  than  disen- 
gage, heat ;  and  this,  as  a  complete  explanation,  may 
be  at  once  dismissed. 

3.  Some  geologists,  without  insisting  on,  and  even 
denying  the  central  fluidity  of  the  earth,  have  sup- 
posed that,  from  chemical  or  electrical  or  other  causes, 
there  may  be  isolated  lakes  of  molten  matter  within 
the  external  crust  of  the  earth.  Admitting  the  mini- 
mum thickness  of  the  crust  of  the  earth  to  be  one 
hundred  miles,  only  one-fortieth  of  the  distance  to  the 
centre  ;  or  even  placing  it  at  fifty  miles,  one-eightieth 
of  the  earth's  radius  ;  and  taking  the  united  height  of 
the  highest  mountains  and  the  greatest  depth  of  the 
ocean  at  five  miles  each,  or  ten  miles,  —  it  is  readily 
seen  how,  in  a  crust  of  five  times  that  thickness,  there 
might  be  reservoirs  or  lakes  of  molten  materials  as 
large  as  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  communicating  ex- 
ternally, and  yet  form  a  very* insignificant  portion  of 
the  earth's  crust,  communicating  with  no  molten 
centre.  This  hypothesis,  though  possible,  is  not 
probable. 

4.  There  remains  a  fourth  hypothesis,  recently 
brought  prominently  forward  by  Mallet  in  England, 


VOLCANIC   HISTORY   OF  ICELAND.         275 

but  really  due  to  Mr.  Vose,  a  New-England  geolo- 
gist ;  viz.,  the  central  nucleus,  though  comparatively 
solid,  is  constantly  cooling  and  shrinking ;  this  leaves 
a  vacant  space  between  the  crust  and  the  central 
cooling  nucleus  ;  as  the  crust  shrinks,  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  wizened,  too-long-kept  apple,  it  falls  in  upon 
the  centre.  This  motion  going  on  at  a  tremendous 
scale,  in  strata  whose  depth  is  measured  by  miles, 
is  transformed  into  heat,  and  with  such  energy  and 
intensity,  probably  assisted  by  the  action  of  highly 
heated  and  alkaline  waters,  as  to  soften  and  liquefy 
the  most  refractory  rocks,  and  by  the  accompanying 
gases  or  steam  to  eject  the  molten  materials  in  the 
form  of  lava,  in  the  immense  volumes  and  with  the 
prodigious  force,  of  which  we  have  seen  ample  evi- 
dence in  Iceland.  According  to  Professor  Hunt, 
this  transformation  of  motion  into  heat,  on  this  great 
scale,  occurs  in  the  fluid  sedimentary  deposits,  at 
various  depths,  between  the  cooling  crust  and  the  hot 
but  solid  nucleus.* 

Whichever  explanation  we  adopt,  many  phenomena 


*  This  heat  would  not  only  soften  and  chemically  change  the 
lower  part  of  these  sediments,  but  the  underlying  floor  of  the  older 
crystalline  rocks  ;  thus  establishing  a  line  of  weakness,  or  of  least 
resistance,  in  the  earth's  crust,  coincident  with  that  of  the  great  ac- 
cumulations of  sediment.  From  this  it  would  result  that  the  wrink- 
ling or  corrugation  of  the  earth's  crust,  due  to  a  contracting  nucleus, 
would  be  determined  along  the  lines  of  great  sedimentation. 


276  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

as  yet  are  very  imperfectly  understood  ;  at  any  rate, 
it  seems  that  our  volcanoes  are  small  compared  to 
those  of  former  geological  periods,  when  the  crust  of 
the  earth  was  thinner  and  the  nucleus  hotter  than 
now;  and  it  may  be  stated  as  a  fact,  consoling  to 
future  generations,  that  the  volcanic  energy  of  our 
planet  is  declining. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
GEOLOGY     AND     MINERALOGY. 

Lava.  —  Palagonite.  —  Tufa.  —  Basalt,  or  Trap.  —  Elevation 
AND  Subsidence.  —  Action  of  Ice.  —  Glaciers.  —  Action  of 
Water.  —  Heights  of  Mountains.  —  Surturbrand,  or  Ice- 
land Lignite. —  Origin.  —  Drift  Wood,  or  Local  Forests. 
—  Supposed  Former  Warmer  Climate.  —  Iceland  Spar. — 
Obsidian.  —  Minerals.  —  Sulphur. 

TT  has  been  before  stated  that  Iceland  is  entirely  of 
volcanic  origin,  and  that  geologists  have  described 
three  different  geological  formations.  The  youngest 
is  the  lava  formation,  comprising  whatever  is  due  to 
recent  volcanic  action,  —  whether  lava  proper,  slag, 
sand,  or  hot  springs. 

The  next  oldest  formation  consists  of  strata  of 
palagonite  tufa,  intersected  by  dykes  of  columnar 
basalts,  trap,  and  obsidian  of  more  recent  age.  Wal- 
tershausen,  who  gave  the  name  palagonite  from  Pala- 
gonia  in  Sicily,  where  this  mineral  abounds,  thinks 
this  the  oldest  formation  in  Iceland,  a  submarine  lava 
or  volcanic  ashes  modified  by  water ;  and  Bunsen  calls 
it  the  foundation  of  the  island.  The  former  states  that 
it  contains  marine  shells  and  skeletons  of  silicious 
infusoria,  which  the  latter  regards  as  showing  its  pro- 


2/8  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

duction  in  thermal  waters  ;  but  I  cannot  see  that  this 
is  a  justifiable  deduction,  and  no  traces  of  such  skel- 
etons have  been  found  in  specimens  examined  in 
England. 

Tufa  is  a  mineral  substance  of  loose  texture,  com- 
posed of  a  fine  cement,  which,  if  the  chief  ingredient, 
looks  like  clay  or  sand-stone  ;  if  it  contain  fragments 
of  other  minerals,  it  resembles  a  conglomerate.  Pala- 
gonite  tufa  consists  mainly  of  this  mineral,  which  is 
not  unlike  a  brownish  resin  in  appearance.  Basalts 
are  firm  and  crystalline,  fine-grained,  and  generally 
dark-colored.  Most  of  the  volcanic  fissures  of  Iceland 
are  in  this  tufa,  and  it  covers  large  portions  of  the 
island,  where  there  is  no  lava,  on  the  eastern,  northern, 
and  north-western  coasts.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  large 
jokuls  in  the  interior  and  to  the  south,  it  forms  large 
and  steep  mountain  ridges  ;  it  is  the  rock  underlying 
the  lava  streams. 

According  to  PaijkuU,  the  material  of  this  tufa  con- 
sists of  old  volcanic  ashes  and  sand,  mixed  often  with 
scoriae,  ejected  beneath  the  sea,  and  by  its  waves  and 
currents  arranged  in  strata,  forming  a  hard,  stony 
mass.  It  is  also  believed  that  this  substance  may 
be  formed  in  the  air  by  the  long-continued  action  of 
rivers,  wind,  and  rain,  which  heap  up  around  the  base 
of  the  mountains  the  same  materials  as  are  suddenly 
thrown  out  by  volcanoes. 


GEOLOGY  AND   MINERALOGY.  279 

The  oldest  formation  is  the  basalt,  enclosing  the 
island  as  with  a  belt,  especially  noticeable  in  the  large 
fiords  and  deep  valleys  of  the  north,  north-west,  and 
east ;  it  is  the  principal  formation  of  the  country, 
and  underlies  the  others.  Its  sheets,  however,  as 
dykes,  have  penetrated  from  below  the  upper  strata, 
so  that  alternating  beds  of  basalt  and  tufa  are  not 
uncommon.  It  is  frequently  called  trap,  from  the 
beds  lorming  layers  one  over  the  other,  like  steps 
(trappCy  a  step),  giving  a  character  to  the  scenery 
entirely  different  from  that  where  the  tufas  or  lavas 
prevail. 

Paijkull  places  the  age  of  the  basalt  of  Iceland  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  tertiary  epoch,  from  the  fossil 
plants  contained  in  it.  During  the  post-tertiary  or 
glacier  period,  the  northern  continents  were  enveloped 
in  ice,  and  some  of  the  lavas  of  the  island  are  re- 
ferred to  this  time ;  and  the  palagonite,  between 
the  two,  must  have  been  formed  toward  the  close 
of  the  tertiary,  or  the  beginning  of  the  post-tertiary 
period. 

As  showing  the  elevation  and  subsidence  of  the 
land,  Chambers  alludes  to  what  he  calls  "  alluvial  ter- 
races," rtear  Reykjavik, — one  a  hundred,  the  other 
thirty  feet  above  the  sea ;  they  were  composed  of  a 
black  dust,  the  detritus  of  the  rocks.  "  In  this  case, 
the  land  had  at  one  time  been  submerged  to  the  depth 


280  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

of  the  upper  terrace,  and  the  valley  was  an  estuary. 
The  river  having 'brought  in  and  laid  down  a  bed  of 
alluvial  matter,  an  uprise  at  length  takes  place,  leaving 
that  in  the  open  air.  The  river  flows  over  it,  cuts  it 
down,  leaving  terraces  at  the  sides,  and  then  a  new 
alluvial  sheet  is  spread  out  in  the  receded  estuary. 
Another  uprise  taking-place,  so  as  to  throw  back  the 
sea  to  where  it  now  is,  the  second  set  of  terraces  is 
formed  in  the  same  way."  Perhaps  the  action  of  ice 
and  water,  in  this  as  in  other  cases,  may  afford  as 
good  an  explanation  as  the  above  theory  of  elevation 
and  subsidence. 

The  evidences  of  ice  action  are  numerous  in  Ice- 
land ;  on  the  road  from  the  capital  to  Thingvalla  the 
country  bears  the  marks  of  ancient  glacial  action,  in 
the  shape  of  rounded  eminences  {roches  montonnees), 
furrowed  and  striated  surfaces,  and  boulder  blocks 
transported  from  a  distance.  Though  granite  does 
not  exist  in  situ  in  Iceland,  the  statement  of  travellers 
that  they  have  seen  granite  boulders  there  may  well 
be  true,  this  material  having  been  transported  from 
Greenland  and  the  north  by  the  immense  sheet  of  ice 
which  covered  the  northern  hemispheres  during  the 
glacial  period.  Ice  has  been  a  mighty  agent  in  mak- 
ing the  fiords  on  the  coast,  in  dredging  out  the 
channels  about  the  island,  and  even  in  shaping  the 
coast  and  contour  of  the  Faroe  islands.     The  extent 


GEOLOGY   AND    MTXERALOGY.  281 

of  the  fields  of  ice  around  Iceland  in  modern  times 
may  be  understood  from  the  fact,  that  a  field  covering 
several  thousand  square  miles  of  the  sea  north  of 
Iceland  and  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  most  of 
which  it  is  believed  had  not  been  moved  for  four 
hundred  years,  suddenly  broke  up  in  1817;  this  led 
to  the  famous  expedition  of  Captain  Ross,  the  second 
in  this  century,  in  search  of  a  north-west  passage. 
Fields  have  been  since  seen  covering  several  hundreds 
of  square  miles.  From  these  facts,  the  occurrence  of 
the  mammoth  in  Iceland,  of  which  Dr.  Hjaltalin 
assured  me,  is  altogether  probable  ;  as  the  polar  bear 
in  modern  times  has  not  unfrequently  been  carried 
to  Iceland  on  ice  floes,  the  mammoth  may  well  have 
been  transported  from  Greenland  and  Siberia  on  the 
ice  and  glaciers  of  the  post-tertiary  age.  Some  of  the 
glaciers  now  existing  in  Iceland  are  several  hundred 
square  miles  in  extent,  covering  in  their  slow  but 
irresistible  progress  plains  formerly  fertile  and  well 
inhabited,  though  now  desolate  from  the  combined 
action  of  the  fire,  ice,  and  water  of  the  jokuls. 

Iceland  is  the  best  country  in  the  world  for  the 
study  of  effects  of  deluges  of  water,  and  their  compari- 
son with  similar  older  geological  phenomena.  In  the 
words  of  an  English  geologist :  "  Carrying  with  them 
disintegrated  portions  of  the  rocks  and  soils  over 
which  they  have  passed,  from  the  finest  mud  to  the 


282  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

most  enormous  rock-fragments,  as  well  as  gigantic 
icebergs,  they  have  deposited  the  mud,  sand,  and 
gravel  over  great  extents  of  country,  frequently 
as  breccias  and  conglomerates.  Sandy  wastes  and 
marshes  have  sprung  into  existence  ;  old  rivers  have 
been  filled  up,  and  new  ones,  as  well  as  lakes,  formed ; 
miles  added  to  the  coast  line  from  encroachments 
on  the  sea ;  the  rocky  sides  of  valleys  grooved  and 
scratched  and  polished  by  the  rocky  flood,  and  the 
soft  sides  of  mountains  washed  or  rubbed  away  bod- 
ily ;  while  whole  hills  of  gravel,  or  other  material, 
have  been  elsewhere  deposited." 

.  The  following  are  the  heights  of  the  six  principal 
mountains,  measured  by  Gunnlaugsson  :  — 

Oroefa,  6,241  feet ;  ascended  by  Paulsen  in  1794. 

Eya-fjalla,  5,432  feet ;  never  ascended. 

Herdubreid,  5,290  feet ;  never  ascended. 

Snaefell,  north-east  of  the  Vatna  jokul,  about  6,808 
feet ;  never  ascended. 

Hecla,  not  quite  5,000  feet,  whose  summits  have 
often  been  ascended. 

Snaef ell's  jokul,  in  the  west,  seen  from  Reykjavik, 
about  4,577  feet,  often  attempted,  but  never  entirely 
successfully  :  by  Sir  John  Stanley  in  1789  ;  Sir  Henry 
Holland  and  Dr.  Bright,  about  thirty  years  after,  came 
very  near  the  summit ;  Henderson  in  J814,  and  Cap- 
tain Forbes  in  1859,  both  failed  to  reach  it.     There 


GEOLOGY  AND    AflNERALOGY.  283 

are  several  other  jokuls,  entirely  unexplored,  on  the 
borders  of  the  lava  desert,  which  are  also  of  great 
height. 

The  tufa  strata  contain  a  kind  of  coal  or  lignite, 
called  "  surturbrand,"  which  is  of  considerable  geo- 
logical interest,  though  as  a  source  of  national  wealth 
of  not  much  importance,  as  the  small  supply  occurs 
usually  high  up  in  almost  inaccessible  mountains.  It 
is  sometimes  seen  in  the  sides  of  ravines  laid  bare  by 
torrents,  in  layers  three  or  four  inches  thick,  com- 
posed of  very  thin  plates  ;  imbedded  in  it  are  stems 
of  trees,  flattened,  more  or  less  carbonized,  and  cut- 
ting like  wood  ;  the  interior  is  as  black  as  ebony,  and 
is  sometimes  worked  in  the  same  way  as  this  wood. 
Above  it  is  a  browner  material  like  burned  clay,  and 
over  this  deposits  of  loose  slag  and  cinders. 

Von  Troil,  in  his  letters  on  Iceland,  1780,  says 
it  "is  evidently  wood,  not  quite  petrified,  but  indu- 
rated, which  drops  asunder  as  soon  as  it  comes  into 
the  air,  but  keeps  well  in  water,  and  never  rots  ;  it 
gives  a  bright,  though  weak  flame,  and  a  great  deal  of 
heat,  and  yields  a  sourish  though  not  unwholesome 
smell.  The  Icelanders  make  a  powder  of  it,  which 
they  make  use  of  to  preserve  their  clothes  from 
moths  ;  they  likewise  apply  it  externally  against  the 
colick.  I  have  seen  tea-cups,  plates,  &c.,  in  Copen- 
hagen made  of  surturbrand,  which  takes  a  fine  polish- 


284  A^  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

It  is  found  in  many  parts  of  Iceland,  generally  in  the 
mountains  in  horizontal  beds." 

The  stems  are  surrounded  by  branches,  roots,  and 
knots,  and  numerous  delicate  impressions  of  leaves, 
resembling  those  of  the  poplar,  willow,  and  birch. 
The  alternation  of  surturbrand  and  basalt,  the  exist- 
ence of  leaves,  and  the  absence  of  marine  shells,  show 
either  that  all  the  basalt  is  not  a  submarine  formation, 
or,  which  is  most  probable,  that  there  have  been  many 
depressions  and  elevations  of  the  surface.  Though 
Olafsen  noticed  them  at  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
Professor  Steenstrup  first  directed  scientific  attention 
thereto  ;  the  remains  of  the  leaves  and  fruits  belong 
to  trees  not  found  in  Iceland,  but  resemble  those 
which  formerly  grew  in  tropical  America,  according 
to  Paijkull,  of  species  now  extinct.  Beside  the  trees 
named,  he  mentions  pines,  alder,  hazel,  oak,  elm,  plane, 
vine,  tulip,  walnut ;  in  all,  about  thirty  species. 

There  are  two  opposite  opinions  in  regard  to  the 
origin  of  surturbrand.  According  to  one,  it  is  derived 
from  old  drift-wood,  of  which  the  southern  coast  has 
at  the  present  time  a  large  amount,  brought  by  the 
gulf  stream  from  America,  and  cast  ashore  by  the 
storms,  —  a  very  fortunate  circumstance  for  the  people 
of  this  treeless  country.  That  this  wood  comes  from 
temperate,  even  sub-tropical,  waters  is  proved  by  the 
borings  of  the  ship  worm  {teredo  navalis).     The  an 


GEOLOGY  AND    MINERALOGY.  285 

cient  drift-wood  was  overwhelmed  by  depositions,  and 
by  heat  and  pressure  converted  into  coal ;  the  impres- 
sions of  the  leaves  are,  on  this  supposition,  accounted 
for  by  the  wood  having  been  imbedded  in  ice. 

According  to  the  other  opinion,  the  surturbrand  is 
derived  from  stratified  forests  buried  by  submarine 
volcanic  eruptions.  Some  of  it,  perhaps,  may  be  thus 
accounted  for,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  strong  evidence 
that  trees  of  the  size  and  species  found  ever  grew  in 
Iceland.  Under  either  supposition,  there  must  have 
been  great  oscillations  of  the  strata.  Hooker,  in  his 
"  Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Iceland  in  the  Summer  of 
1809,"  writes  as  follows:  "In  one  of  these  morasses, 
I  passed  a  woman,  driving  a  horse  loaded  with  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  which  had  been  dug  up  close  by ;  it 
was  so  large  as  to  appear  nearly  as  great  a  burthen  as 
the  beast  could  well  walk  under,  and  was,  probably, 
five  or  six  feet  long,  and  nearly  a  foot  in  diameter." 
It  is  dug  up  in  places  where  not  even  a  bush  is  seen 
at  present. 

Supposing  that  under  a  warmer  climate,  which 
probably  prevailed  in  Iceland  in  the  intervals  of  the 
several  glacial  periods,  there  was  formerly  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  vegetable  matter  in  these  regions,  we  can 
understand  how  it  might  become  covered  with  an 
impermeable  clay,  and  thus,  the  gases  being  impris- 
oned, be  converted  into  surturbrand  or  lignite,  stopping 


286  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

short  of  coal  owing  to  circumstances  unfavorable  to 
its  production.  Dr.  Hjaltalin,  however,  has  shown 
me  very  good  specimens  of  tertiary  bituminous  coal. 

The  delicate  nature  of  the  vegetable  remains  whose 
impressions  have  been  found  seems  to  forbid  the  sup- 
position that  they  could  have  been  conveyed  any  great 
distance,  and  the  inference  is  natural  that  they  grew 
on  the  spot.  The  stems  found  frequently  retain  their 
covering  of  bark,  which  is  absent  in  the  drift-wood. 

Paijkull  favors  the  drift  theory,  saying  that  in  the 
gulf  stream,  in  the  open  sea,  delicate  leaves  and  fruits 
might  drift  without  being  knocked  about,  especially 
as  during  the  process  of  decomposition  they  would 
float  in  mid-water,  below  surface  agitation,  before 
sinking  to  the  bottom ;  in  this  way,  they  might  be 
carried  hundreds  of  miles  without  much  injury. 
"  From  this  point  of  view,"  he  says,  "  surturbrand 
does  not  testify  to  the  existence  of  a  forest  vegetation 
in  Iceland  in  former  ages,  but  only  affords  another 
proof  that  the  Icelandic  basalts  were  formed  under 
the  surface  of  the  sea." 

Two  layers  have  been  found  separated  by  a  vein  of 
trap,  in  a  bed  of  tufa,  above  which  was  a  stratum  of 
columnar  basalt,  and  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea.  ^ 

In  mineralogy  Iceland  is  very  rich.  The  famous 
double-refracting    Iceland    spar  is  now  rarely  found, 


GEOLOGY   AND    MINERALOGY.  287 

and  chiefly  in  ravines  on  the  north  and  north-east 
coast,  where  its  narrow  seams  have  been  laid  bare  by 
the  torrents,'  or  broken  up  by  the  frosts.  Zeolite 
minerals,  calcedonies,  and  jaspers  abound.  Obsidian 
or  Icelandic  agate,  a  kind  of  volcanic  glass,  opaque  and 
shining  black,  is  abundant ;  and  near  the  mud  vol- 
canoes of  Krabla,  in  the  north,  is  the  remarkable 
obsidian  mountain.  Copper  and  iron,  and,  it  is  be- 
lieved, silver  and  gold  occur,  but  not  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  be  worth  working. 

The  only  mineral  which  can  ever  form  an  object  of 
commerce  in  Iceland  is  sulphur.  This  is  found  in 
several  places,  but  the  most  noted  and  productive 
mines  are  near  Husavik  and  the  Myvatn  lake  in  the 
north,  and  at  Krisuvik  in  the  south.  The  sulphur 
springs  are  of  two  kinds,  —  hot,  gaseous  exhalations 
from  the  earth,  depositing  the  sulphur,  and  boiling 
mud  springs.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  transporta- 
tion, the  absence  of  fuel,  and  the  limited  amount  of 
the  material,  it  can  probably  never  be  a  source  of 
national,  hardly  even  of  individual,  wealth,  and  can 
never  compete  in  the  markets  of  the  world  with  the 
sulphur  from  Sicily ;  should,  however,  the  supply 
from  the  latter  source  be  cut  off,  it  might  repay  the 
English  capitalist  to  develop  the  sulphur  springs  of 
Iceland. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
ICELANDERS     IN     AMERICA. 

Icelandic  Emigration.  —  Colony  in  Brazil;  in  British  Amer- 
ica ;  IN  Wisconsin  ;  in  Alaska  ;  in  the  Red  River  Valley. 
—  Noted  Icelanders  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  —  Millennial  Celebration  in  America. 

"  It  would  be  a  sad  commemoration  of  the  thousandth  anniver- 
sary of  the  settlement  of  the  island,  if  its  inhabitants  were  on  that 
occasion  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  future  for  them  was 
to  leave  the  land  where  they  have  now  been  settled  a  thousand  years. 
There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  will  come  to  such 
a  conclusion,  and  there  is  no  absolute  necessity  for  such  a  course." 

TN  addition  to  what  has  been  said  on  the  Icelandic 
exodus,  in  a  previous  chapter,  a  few  words  kindly 
sent  me  by  Professor  Anderson,  of  Madison,  Wiscon- 
sin, will,  I  think,  be  interesting,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
reliable ;  I  give  them  nearly  as  written  in  his  letter 
to  me. 

Icelandic  emigration  began  about  the  year  1865, 
when  a  small  party  of  Icelanders  set  out  for  the 
southern  part  of  Brazil,  South  America ;  another 
little  band  went  thither  in  1873.  Adding  these  two 
parties  together,  and  counting  also  the  single  persons 
who  may  have  found  their  way  to  that  country  since 
1865,  the  number  of  Icelanders  now  living  in  Brazil 


ICELANDERS   IN  AMERICA.  289 

may  be  estimated  at  about  one  hundred.  As  there 
are  no  prospects  that  any  more  will  emigrate  to 
South  America,  the  Icelandic  colony  in  Brazil  must, 
in  course  of  time,  die  out. 

The  excitement  about  Brazil  led  the  Icelanders  to 
think  of  North  America;  and  in  1870  four  persons 
came  from  Iceland  to  the  United  States,  and  settled 
in  Wisconsin.  They  sent  encouraging  letters  back  to 
their  native  island,  and  the  result  is  that  there  are 
now  about  seven  hundred  Icelanders  in  North  Amer- 
ica. Of  these  seven  hundred,  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  live  in  the  British  possessions  (three  hundred 
and  eighty  in  Ontario,  and  seventy  in  Nova  Scotia), 
and  the  rest  are  scattered  in  various  places  in  the 
United  States,  although  the  majority  of  them  live  in 
Wisconsin.  The  largest  emigrations  took  place  in 
1873  and  1874. 

Several  efforts  have  been  made  to  concentrate  the 
Icelandic  emigration,  and  bring  the  emigrants  into 
one  colony.  Some  have  tried  to  get  them  to  settle 
in  Nova  Scotia,  others  in  Ontario,  others  in  Alaska, 
others  in  Wisconsin,  and  again  others  in  Nebraska. 

The  Alaska  plan  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable. 
He  believes  it  originated  in  the  mind  of  Marston 
Niles  of  New  York  ;  at  any  rate,  he  sent  for  Mr.  Jon 
Olafsson,  an  Icelander  in  Wisconsin,  and  brought  it 
about  that  Jon  Olafsson,  Olafur  Olafsson,  and  Pall 
»3  * 


290  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Bjornsson  went  in  a  United  States  ship  to  Alaska 
last  fall,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  country,  and 
to  find  out  whether  it  was  fit  for  their  settlement.  The 
last  two  remained  in  Alaska  through  the  winter,  and 
have  now  come  back  to  Milwaukee,  giving  a  very 
ujtfavorable  account,  and  saying  they  will  have  noth- 
ing more  to  do  with  Alaska. 

Mr.  Jon  Olafsson  returned  to  Ne'w  York  in  the  fall, 
spending  the  winter  in  Washington,  trying  to  get 
some  legislation  done  for  the  Alaska  settlement.  He 
reported  very  favorably,  wrote  a  little  Icelandic  book, 
which  was  published  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, and  was  intended  for  distribution  in  Iceland. 
In  the  spring  of  1875,  without  having  secured  any 
legislation  in  favor  of  his  project,  he  went  to  Iceland 
ostensibly  with  a  view  of  working  for  emigration  to 
Alaska ;  but  private  information  from  Iceland  is  con- 
clusive to  the  effect  that  his  plans  are  meeting  with 
no  favor. 

The  colony  in  Wisconsin  is  small,  consisting  of 
about  fifty  persons,  who  have  as  their  Icelandic 
preacher  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thorlaksson.  Whether  they 
will  remain  there  or  not  remains  to  be  seen. 

Recently,  strenuous  efforts  have  been  made  to  form 
an  Icelandic  settlement  north  of  Manitoba,  in  the 
north-west  territory.  A  large  emigration  is  looked 
for,  after  the  recent  extensive  volcanic  eruptions  in 


ICELANDERS   IN  AMERICA,  29 1 

Iceland.  A  few  weeks  ago,  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Milwaukee  by  several  Icelanders,  who  discussed  the 
feasibility  of  a  proposition  made  to  them  by  the 
Canadian  government,  to  settle  in  this  north-west 
territory.  Some  of  the  Icelanders  present  in  Mil- 
'waukee  had  just  come  back  from  a  visit  to  Manitoba, 
and  were  very  much  pleased  with  the  country.  "  From 
the  resolutions  they  passed,"  writes  Professor  Ander- 
son, "  I  should  feel  warranted  in  saying,  that  it  is 
quite  probable  that  a  large  Icelandic  settlement  will 
be  attempted  in  the  Red  River  Valley,  north  of  Mani- 
toba, and  time  will  have  to  determine  whether  the 
plan  is  a  wise  one  or  not.  I  have,  as  yet,  no  opinion 
in  the  matter ;  but  I  know  many  Icelanders  are  hope- 
ful in  regard  to  it."  The  plan  is  to  gather  all  the 
Icelanders  that  have  emigrated,  and  may  emigrate,  to 
the  Red  River  Valley,  where  the  Canadian  government 
seems  to  have  offered  very  favorable  inducements. 

Among  Icelanders  of  some  note  in  Europe  may  be 
mentioned :  In  England  and  Scotland,  Gudbrandr 
Vigfusson,  of  Oxford  University,  editor  of  Cleasby's 
Icelandic-English  Dictionary;  Eirikur  Magnusson, 
of  Cambridge  University,  a  member  of  our  party, 
translator  of  several  Icelandic  Sagas ;  Jon  Hjaltalin, 
of  the  Advocate's  Library,  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
translator  of  Orkneyinga  Saga  ;  S.  Sveinbjornsson,  of 
Edinburgh,  a  distinguished  musician,  who  composed 


292  AN  AMERICAN  IN   ICELAND. 

the  "Hymn  of  Praise"  for  the  millennial  festival  in 
Iceland,  a  piece  of  music  which  we  heard  sung,  and 
which  is  given  in  a  previous  chapter,  pages  70-73. 

Among  the  Icelanders  who  have  come  to  this 
country,  there  are  six  of  scholarly  attainments,  i. 
Professor  Jon  Bjarnason,  who  was  formerly  a  minister 
in  Reykjavik.  He  has  for  the  last  year  been  a  pro- 
fessor in  Luther  College,  Decorah,  Iowa,  and  is  now 
living  with  Professor  Anderson  in  Madison,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  they  are  working  together  at  the  Sagas.  2. 
Pall  Thorlaksson,  a  thorough  Icelandic  scholar,  who 
is  pastor  of  the  Icelanders  in  Wisconsin.  3.  Jon 
Olafsson,  a  poet  and  journalist,  who  was  compelled 
to  leave  Iceland  on  account  of  his  strong  republican 
tendencies.  He  is  the  one  who  went  to  Alaska,  and 
is  now  in  Iceland.  Besides  these,  there  are  three  who 
are  eminent  specimens  of  self-made  men :  Olafur 
Olafsson,  Fridjon  Fridriksson,  and  Sigtryggr  Jonasson. 
These  are  all  scholars,  well  versed  in  Icelandic,  Danish, 
English,  German,  and  French. 

At  the  same  time  that  we  were  assisting  at  the 
millennial  celebration  in  Iceland,  the  Norse  population 
in  America  were  not  unmindful  of  this  important 
event.  According  to  Professor  Anderson,  between 
sixty  and  seventy  Icelanders  assembled  in  church 
at  Milwaukee  on  Sunday,  Aug.  2,  1874,  to  hear  a 
sermon  on  the  past  and  present  of  Iceland.     After 


ICELANDERS  IN   AMERICA.  293 

church,  they  marched  to  a  park,  where,  clad  in  some 
respects  in  their  national  costume,  they  listened  to 
patriotic  speeches  from  Jon  Olafsson,  Olafur  Olafsson, 
Professor  Anderson,  and  other  Icelandic  scholars; 
interspersing  the  addresses  with  native  songs,  allu- 
sions to  and  cheers  for  the  friends  of  Iceland  in  all 
countries,  especially  Jon  Sigurdsson.  to  whom  more 
than  to  any  one  else  the  new  Constitution,  and  what- 
ever glimpses  of  independence  it  affords,  is  due,  —  a 
man  whom  Professor  Fiske,  the  Scandinavian  scholar 
of  this  country,  considers  "  worthy  of  being  placed  by 
the  side  of  Gladstone,  in  England,  as  a  scholar  and 
statesman." 

The  sermon  alluded  to  was  by  Professor  Jon  Bjar- 
nason,  and  the  first  Icelandic  sermon  in  America  on 
record. 

The  millennial  festival  was  also  appropriately  re- 
membered in  New  York  city,  Ithaca,  and  Chicago. 


Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  learned  that 
about  two  hundred  and  eighty  Icelanders  have  gone 
to  the  Red  River  Valley,  and  are  now  there.  They 
will  probably  call  their  settlement  "  Leifsland,"  in 
honor  of  Leif  Erikson,  who  came  to  America  in  the 
year  icxx). 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE     FUTURE     OF     ICELAND. 

Political  Agitation  in  Iceland.  —  The  New  Constitution, 
AND  ITS  Provisions.  —  Analysis  of  it.  —  What  it  is  good 
FOR.  —  Disappointment  of  the  People.  —  Allegorical  Pic- 
ture OF  the  Past  and  Present  of  Iceland.  —  Author's 
Impressions  of  the  People.  —  What  is  wanted  for  the 
Future  Prosperity  of  Iceland. 

"  The  law  of  force  is  dead  ! 
The  law  of  love  prevails  ! 
Thor,  the  Thunderer, 
Shall  ride  the  earth  no  more. 
Sing  no  more, 
O  ye  bards  of  the  North, 
Of  Vikings  and  of  Jarls  ! 
Of  the  days  of  old 
Preserve  the  freedom  only, 
Not  the  deeds  of  blood." 

T  TAVING  briefly  sketched  the  glorious  past  of  Ice- 
land, and  given  as  clear  an  idea  as  my  space 
will  allow  of  its  present  condition,  these  pages  may 
properly  be  concluded  by  a  short  statement  of  what  its 
interesting  and  liberty-loving  people  may  hope  for  in 
the  future,  and  especially  what  they  may  expect  from 
the  "  new  constitution,"  which  was  the  boon  conferred 
upon  them  during  the  visit  of  his  Danish  Majesty, 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  295 

Since  1845,  when  some  concessions  were  made  to 
Iceland  by  Denmark,  there  has  been  a  persistent  agi- 
tation to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  island,  by- 
securing  to  it  a  voice  in  the  regulation  of  its  govern- 
ment, and  in  the  appropriation  of  its  revenues  at 
home.  The  one  to  whom  the  country  is  principally 
indebted  for  the  present  good  and  the  future  promise 
in  the  "  new  constitution,"  is  John  Sigurdsson,  a 
native,  and  without  doubt  the  most  popular  and  patri- 
otic man  in  Iceland,  who,  unfortunately,  was  not 
present  to  receive  the  admiring  plaudits  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

Before  giving  the  new  constitution,  the  reader  is 
informed  that  it,  as  well  as  a  condensed  statement  of 
its  chief  points,  was  translated  for  the  use  of  the 
newspaper  correspondents  of  our  party,  by  Professor 
Magnusson,  of  Cambridge,  England,  our  native  Ice- 
landic companion.  The  whole  document  was  published 
in  the  newspapers  at  the  time,  but  is  here  introduced 
as  an  interesting  chapter  of  political  history,  and  as 
showing  how  hard  it  is  for  royalty  to  yield  any  thing 
to  the  just  demands  of  a  people  desirous  of  governing 
themselves  by  republican  principles. 

According  to  taste,  therefore,  the  reader  may  take 
the  whole  constitution  or  its  abstract,  neither  of 
which  would  have  been  entirely  intelligible  without 
the  preceding  general  information. 


296  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

THE    CONSTITUTION    OF    ICELAND. 
CHAPTER    I. 

RELATIONS    BETWEEN   ICELAND   AND   DENMARK. 

Article  i.  The  power  of  legislation  rests  with  the  King  and 
the  Althing  ;  executive  power  with  the  King  alone  ;  judiciary- 
power  with  the  Judges.  Iceland  has  no  part  in  Imperial  matters, 
pays  no  revenues  to  Denmark,  and  has  no  representation  in  the 
Danish  Rigsdag. 

2.  The  King  governs  through  a  Minister,  called  Minister  for 
Iceland.  He  may  or  may  not  be  a  member  of  the  Cabinet. 
The  King  appoints  the  Governor,  who  receives  his  orders 
through  the  Minister. 

3.  The  Minister  can  be  impeached  by  the  Althing,  after 
forms  of  law  to  be  enacted  hereafter.  The  Althing  may  peti- 
tion the  King  against  acts  of  the  Governor,  and  the  King  may 
order  his  impeachment  at  his  pleasure,  or  remove  him. 

4.  All  officers  appointed  by  the  King  must  be  native-born 
subjects  of  Denmark,  and  must  speak  the  Icelandic  language. 
He  may  remove  an  officer  or  transfer  him,  but  not  degrade  him 
to  a  lower  office  or  salary, 

5.  The  regular  Althing  is  to  assemble  every  second  year, 
and  to  sit  not  more  than  six  weeks,  except  by  command  of  the 
King.     This  may  be  changed  by  law. 

6.  The  King  may  call  extraordinary  sessions,  and  direct  the 
period  of  their  duration. 

7.  The  King  may  adjourn  the  regular  Althing,  but  not  over 
four  weeks,  unless  the  Althing  consents  ;  not  more  than  once, 
however,  the  same  year. 

8.  The  King  may  dissolve  the  Althing ;  in  which  case  there 
shall  be  new  elections  within  two  months,  and  the  newly  elected 
Althing  shall  be  summoned  to  meet  the  year  following. 


THE   FUTURE    OF  ICELAND.  297 

9.  The  King  shall  have  power  to  lay  draughts  of  bills  before 
the  Althing. 

10.  If  the  King  has  not  given  his  assent  to  a  bill  within 
two  years,  it  cannot  have  the  power  of  law,  and  is  null  and 
void. 

11.  When  the  King  considers  it  necessary,  he  may  decree 
ad  interim  laws.  These  must  not,  however,  violate  the  Consti- 
tution. They  must  be  laid  before  the  Althing  at  the  next  ses- 
sion, though,  unless  with  the  assent  of  the  King,  they  cannot  be 
annulled. 

12.  All  power  of  reprieve  rests  with  the  King. 

13.  The  King  may  directly,  or  by  royal  commission,  grant 
exemption  from  the  operation  of  laws  enacted  by  the  Althing 
under  the  new  Constitution,  in  case  they  conflict  with  laws  for- 
merly in  force. 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE   CONSTITUTION   OF   THE    ALTHING. 

14.  The  Althing  shall  consist  of  thirty-six  Deputies  ;  thirty 
to  be  elected  by  the  people,  six  appointed  by  the  King ;  the 
number  of  the  former  may  be  altered  by  law.  The  Deputies 
shall  be  elected  for  six  years,  unless  the  Althing  shall  be  sooner 
dissolved  by  the  King ;  the  six  appointed  by  the  King,  how- 
ever, in  case  of  dissolution,  hold  on  to  the  end  of  the  term  of 
their  appointment.  All  of  the  thirty-six  must  be  Icelandefs. 
If  a  Deputy  dies  or  resigns,  and  his  place  is  filled  by  elec- 
tion, the  new  Deputy  holds  office  only  until  the  end  of  the 
term. 

15.  The  Althing  shall  consist  of  two  Chambers,  the  upper 
comprising  twelve,  the  lower  twenty-four  members  ;  these  num- 
bers may  be  altered  by  law. 

16.  Those  appointed  by  the  King  are  ex  officio  members  of 
the  upper  house  ;  the  other  six  are  elected  by  the  entire  body, 

13* 


298  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

meeting  in  general  session.  If  a  seat  becomes  vacant  in  the 
upper  house,  the  Althing  meets  in  general  session  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  after  the  district  shall  have  elected  a  new  Deputy. 

17.  All  bondsmen  (farmers)  who  cultivate  a  grass  field  and 
who  pay  taxes  shall  have  the  right  of  franchise  ;  special  exemp- 
tions may,  however,  be  granted  by  law  from  paying  some  par- 
ticular tax,  without  forfeit  of  franchise.  All  residents  of  towns 
who  pay  a  municipal  tax  of  four  rix-dollars  have  the  franchise  ; 
also,  men  of  the  dry  booth,  —  that  is,  men  who  have  no  cows, 
milkless  men,  referring  especially  to  fishermen,  —  who  pay  a 
tax  of  six  dollars  a  year ;  public  functionaries,  who  are  ap- 
pointed either  by  royal  writ  or  by  local  authority  ;  and  all  who 
have  passed  an  examination  at  the  University  or  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Reykjavik,  or  other  institutions  provided  by  law, 
provided  they  are  not  so  bound  as  to  have  the  action  of  their 
will  controlled  by  others.  A  voter  must  be  twenty-five  years 
old,  have  a  good  character,  and  must  have  resided  in  the  district 
where  he  votes  at  least  one  year ;  he  must  be  of  sound  mind, 
and  without  restraint ;  he  must  not  be  in  receipt  of  support 
from  the  poor-law  fund,  or,  having  received  it,  he  must  have 
paid  it  back,  or  been  exempted  from  so  doing  by  law. 

18.  Any  one  in  the  above  five  classes  may  become  a  Deputy 
by  election  to  the  Althing,  provided  he  is  not  the  subject  of 
another  Power,  or  in  its  service.  He  must,  however,  have  re- 
sided the  last  five  years  of  his  life  in  lands  subject  to  Denmark, 
and  have  completed  his  thirtieth  year. 

CHAPTER    III. 

DUTIES    OF   THE   ALTHING. 

19.  The  Althing  shall  meet  on  the  first  working  day  of  July 
every  second  year,  unless  the  King  otherwise  orders. 

20.  The  place  of  meeting  shall  be  Reykjavik,  unless  on  spe- 
cial occasion  the  King  may  fix  upon  another  place. 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  299 

21.  Each  Chamber  of  the  Althing  has  the  right  to  draft  bills, 
and  to  send  addresses  to  the  King. 

22.  Each  Chamber  may  appoint  committees  to  sit  during  the 
session  of  the  Althing,  to  consider  matters  of  public  concern, 
with  power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers. 

23.  All  taxes  must  be  regulated  by  law,  and  no  land  shall  be 
taken  up  or  sold  except  by  law. 

24.  No  funds  shall  be  taken  from  the  Treasury,  unless  pro- 
vision is  made  therefor  by  the  general  budget  or  by  special 
law. 

25.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Althing,  a  budget  sufficient 
for  two  years  shall  be  laid  before  the  lower  Chamber.  The  in- 
come to  provide  for  the  expenditure  shall  be  fixed  and  extraor- 
dinary;  the  latter,  according  to  the  relations  of  Iceland  in  the 
realm,  as  by  Act  of  July  2,  1871,  is  to  be  paid  out  of  the  general 
Treasury  to  Iceland,  yet  in  such  way  that,  before  any  thing  else, 
shall  be  paid  the  salaries  of  the  higher  functionaries  of  the  island 
and  the  Royal  Commissioner  at  the  Althing. 

26.  Each  Chamber  has  the  right  to  demand  an  explanation 
of  every  item  in  the  budget. 

27.  No  bill  shall  be  passed  by  either  Chamber  until  it  has 
been  discussed  three  times. 

28.  When  a  bill  has  passed  one  Chamber,  it  is  ?ent  to  the 
other.  If  altered,  it  is  returned;  if  again  altered  or  amended 
in  the  Chamber  where  it  originated,  it  is  again  sent  to  the  other 
Chamber,  when,  if  not  now  agreed  to,  both  Chambers  meet,  and 
the  hill  is  disposed  of  in  Althing  at  one  discussion.  In  case  of 
such  meeting  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  each  Chamber  shall 
be  present,  and  take  part  in  the  voting,  a  majority  ruling  on 
each  paragraph.  But  on  every  bill,  except  the  budget,  the  - 
votes  of  two  thirds  of  all  Deputies  present  are  requisite  to  its 
passage 

29.  The  D  jputies  shall  decide  upon  the  legality  of  elections 
to  the  Althing. 


300  AN   AMERICAN   IN  ICELAND. 

30.  Immediately  on  his  election  being  declared  valid,  the 
Deputy  shall  take  an  oath  to  obey  the  Constitution. 

31.  The  Deputies  are  bound  only  by  their  convictions,  and 
are  not  to  receive  instructions  from  the  electors  after  being 
chosen.  PubHc  functionaries  elected  by  the  people  do  not  re- 
quire permission  from  the  government  to  accept,  but  they  are 
bound,  without  expense  to  the  Treasury,  to  have  their  oiBcial 
duties  attended  to  in  their  absence  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to 
the  government. 

32.  While  the  session  lasts,  no  Althing's  man  may  be  arrested 
for  debt,  without  consent  of  the  Chamber  in  which  he  has  his 
seat,  nor  may  he  be  imprisoned  nor  proceeded  against  at  law, 
unless  taken  in  the  actual  commission  of  crime,  nor  can  he  be 
called  to  account  for  words  spoken  in  the  Althing,  unless  with 
consent  of  the  Chamber.  * 

33.  If  any  Deputy  lawfully  elected  shall  violate  the  provision 
of  the  Constitution  which  makes  him  ineligible,  he  violates  his 
privileges  as  a  Deputy. 

34.  The  Governor  shall  have  the  right  to  a  seat  in  the 
Althing  and  to  take  part  in  the  debate,  under  the  rules  of  the 
Houses.  The  government  may  also  give  permission  to  another 
man  to  sit,  and,  on  demand,  deliver  to  the  Althing  all  official 
documents  and  reports  which  may  be  required.  The  Governor 
has  only  the  right  to  vote  when  he  may  be  at  the  same  time  a 
legally  elected  Deputy. 

35.  Each  Chamber  elects  its  President  or  Speaker  —  a  Dep- 
uty ;  also  the  general  Althing,  when  together. 

36.  Neither  Chamber  shall  discuss  any  measure,  unless  two- 
thirds  of  its  members  are  present. 

37.  No  Deputy  shall  make  any  proposal  without  permission 
of  the  Chamber. 

38.  No  measure  shall  be  considered  unless  a  Deputy  shall  be 
responsible  for  its  introduction. 

39.  If  the  Chamber  cannot  decide  a  question,  they  may  refer 
it  to  the  Governor. 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  lOl 

40.  The  sittings  of  both  Chambers  shall  be  open  to  the  pub- 
lic, yet  on  certain  occasions  discussions  may  be  secret. 

41.  Rules  for  the  sittings  of  the  collected  Althing  shall  be 
fixed  by  law. 

CHAPTER     IV. 

THE  JUDICIARY. 

42.  The  formation  of  the  judiciary  shall  be  fixed  by  law. 

43.  The  Judges  shall  decide  the  sphere  of  public  function- 
aries when  appealed  to. 

44.  Judges  can  only  proceed  in  accordance  with  law.  A 
Judge  cannot  be  deprived  of  the  magisterial  functions,  without 
judgment  of  the  other  Judges  ;  and  no  Judge  can  be  transferred 
to  any  other  office  against  his  will,  unless  his  affairs  be  misman- 
aged. At  the  age  of  sixty-five  he  may  resign,  without  losing 
his  salary. 

CHAPTER     V. 

RELIGION. 

45.  The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  shall  be  the  national 
Church,  and  the  State  shall  assist  it  as  such. 

46.  The  people  shall  have  the  right  to  form  societies  for  the 
worship  of  God  according  to  their  consciences,  so  long  as  they 
respect  good  morals  and  public  order. 

47.  No  one  shall  forfeit  his  national  rights  on  account  of 
religion,  nor  can  he  excuse  himself  on  that  account  from  public 
duties. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

RIGHTS   OF  THE  CITIZEN. 

48.  Any  person  suspected  of  crime,  and  held  as  such,  shall 
be  taken  before  a  magistrate  as  soon  as  possible.  If  he  cannot 
be  discharged  immediately,  the  Judge  shall  give  his  decision  in 


302  AJV   AMERICAN   IN  ICELAND. 

three  days  as  to  whether  he  is  to  be  committed  for  trial.  If  he 
be  discharged  on  bail,  the  Judge  shall  fix  it.  A  decision  in 
either  case  may  be  appealed  to  a  higher  authority.  No  person 
can  be  imprisoned  for  a  misdemeanor  which  by  law  is  punish- 
able by  fine. 

49.  The  house  of  the  citizen  shall  be  sacred.  No  domicile 
shall  be  invaded,  nor  any  documents  or  letters  stopped  or 
opened,  except  upon  the  order  of  a  law  court,  unless  the  law 
shall  provide  a  special  exception. 

50.  The  right  of  property  shall  be  sacred.  No  person  shall 
be  required  to  give  up  his  property,  except  for  the  public  good, 
and  then  only  by  special  law,  which  shall  at  the  same  time  grant 
full  restitution. 

51.  Every  man  shall  have  the  right  to  work  at  his  trade,  with- 
out interference  by  the  law  or  l)y  other  citizens. 

52.  He  who  cannot  support  himself  and  family  shall  have  the 
right  of  support  from  the  common  poor-law  fund,  and  in  return 
shall  perform  such  duties  as  the  law  requires. 

53.  If  parents  have  not  the  means  to  educate  their  children, 
or  if  the  children  are  orphans  or  paupers,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  public  to  educate  and  bring  them  up. 

54.  PYeedom  of  the  press  is  absolute.  There  shall  be  no 
censorship,  and  the  man  shall  be  responsible  to  the  courts  of 
law  for  his  utterances  in  case  of  hbel. 

55.  The  people  shall  have  the  right  to  organize  societies, 
without  leave  of  government,  and  the  government  cannot  dis- 
solve a  society  :  yet  they  may  be  prosecuted  at  law,  and  dissolved 
by  the  decision  of  a  court. 

56.  The  people  have  the  right  to  meet  in  public,  without 
weapons.  The  police  have  the  right  to  attend  all  public  meet- 
ings. Public  meetings  may  only  be  forbidden  when  they  are 
likely  to  disturb  the  public  peace. 

57.  Every  able-bodied  citizen  shall  be  required  to  defend  the 
land  in  case  of  invasion. 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  303 

58.  The  rights  of  communities  to  regulate  their  own  affairs 
under  the  supervision  of  government  shall  be  regulated  by  law. 

59.  All  affairs  concerning  taxation  shall  be  settled  by  law. 

60.  All  special  rights  which  the  law  has  attached  to  nobility, 
title,  and  dignities  shall  be  annulled. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

AMENDMENTS   TO   THE   CONSTITUTION. 

61.  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  may  be  proposed  either 
in  a  regular  or  an  extraordinary  Althing.  If  the  proposal  pass 
the  lower  Chamber,  the  Althing  shall  at  once  dissolve,  and  new 
elections  shall  take  place.  If  the  new  Althing  approve,  the 
amendment  or  alteration  is  adopted. 

62.  This  Constitution  comes  into  force  on  the  ist  of  August, 
1874. 

Of  its  seven  chapters,  the  first  states  the  relation 
between  the  king  and  the  Danish  government,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Althing,  or  Icelandic  assembly,  on 
the  other.  The  legislative  power  belongs  to  the  king 
and  Althing  :  the  executive  power  to  the  king  alone  ; 
and  the  judicial  power  to  the  judges.  Iceland  has  no 
voice  in  Danish  national  questions,  is  not  represented 
in  the  Rigsdag  at  Copenhagen,  and  pays  nothing  of 
the  national  expenditures ;  nor  does  she  wish  to. 
The  highest  power  in  Iceland  is  the  Governor  ap- 
pointed by  the  king,  any  complaints  of  the  Althing 
being  decided  by  the  king,  who  would  naturally  lean 
towards  his  officer  ;  this  clause  practically  amounts  to 
nothing  against  anv  oppression  of  the  people,  for  tlie 


304  AN   AMERICAN   IN  ICELAND. 

minister  for  Iceland,  to  whom  the  governor  is  respon- 
sible, is  overruled  by  the  king.  The  Althing,  con- 
vened by  the  king,  sits  for  six  weeks  only,  every  other 
year  ;  there  is  no  necessity,  and  no  pecuniary  or 
political  inducement,  as  with  us,  to  prolong  the  session 
as  long  as  possible  ;  he  may,  however,  prolong  the 
session,  call  special  ones,  and  dissolve  it  at  his 
pleasure  ;  and  no  bill  becomes  a  law  unless  signed 
by  him  :  so  that  the  powers  of  the  Althing,  as  we 
understand  political  matters,  do  not  amount  to  much 
either  for  pubhc  or  private  good. 

Other  chapters  define  the  constitution  and  func- 
tions of  the  Althing,  which  consists  of  thirty  depu- 
ties chosen  by  the  people,  holding  office  for  six  years, 
and  six  appointed  by  the  king,  retaining  their  places 
if  the  Althing  be  dissolved.  There  are  two  houses : 
the  upper  consisting  of  the  six  deputies  appointed 
by  the  king  and  six  chosen  by  the  thirty  out  of  their 
number ;  the  lower  house  consists  of  the  other 
twenty-four  elected  deputies.  The  usual  parliamen- 
tary laws  govern  the  proceedings  ;  this  body,  though 
it  has  the  control,  by  a  biennial  budget,  of  the  finances 
of  the  island,  must  see  to  it  that  the  salaries  of  Da- 
nish officials  and  deputies  take  precedence  of  all  other 
expenditures.  In  addition  to  this  provision  for  "  num- 
ber one,"  Denmark  has  the  power  to  prevent  any 
disagreeable   legislation ;    for,   as    two-thirds   of    the 


THE   FUTURE    OF  ICELAND.  305 

members  of  either  house  constitute  a  quorum,  if  five 
of  the  king's  deputies  stay  away  legislation  by  the 
concurrent  action  of  the  two  houses  is  impossible,  — 
a  provision  which  cannot  be  said  to  grant  much  free- 
dom of  self-government. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  professions  of 
the  power  of  self-government  made  in  this  "  new  con- 
stitution "  amount  to  little  or  nothing ;  as  the  royal 
prerogative  opportunely  steps  in  when  there  is  any 
danger  of  additional  liberty.  It  was  perfectly  well 
understood  by  the  people  as  illiberal,  almost  despotic, 
though  some  demagogues  chose  to  see  in  it  a  Magna 
Charta ;  they  accept  it,  however,  as  the  best  they  can 
get,  and  especially  as  being  the  beginning  of  a  politi- 
cal education,  which,  in  course  of  time,  will  enable 
them  to  demand  and  to  obtain  political  independence. 

In  the  words  of  Mr.  Taylor :  "  The  great  service 
which  Jon  Sigurdsson  has  rendered  to  Iceland  is  not 
so  much  in  the  gift  of  this  constitution  as  in  the  fact 
that  he  has  broken  the  long  apathy  of  the  people, 
persuaded  them  to  ask,  and  secured  them  a  result 
which  means  courage  for  the  future,  if  not  satisfac- 
tion with  the  present.  In  this  sense,  the  ist  of 
August,  1874,  is  the  opening  of  a  new  era  in  Ice- 
land's history." 

Before  concluding  this  chapter  on  the  future  of 
Iceland,  I  wish  to  allude  to  a  picture  made  in  com- 


306  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

memoration  of  the  Millennial  Celebration,  and  sold 
thereat,  which  comprises  in  a  small  compass  much  of 
the  history  of  the  country,  and  will  serve  as  a  re- 
minder of  its  chief  characteristics. 

The  picture  represents  a  stone  archway  with  two 
pillars.  In  the  centre  is  seen  the  white  cone  of  an 
ice  mountain  towering  above  the  sea,  on  each  side  of 
which,  in  the  leaden  sky  beyond,  are  the  dates  of  874 
and  1874,  which  is  the  interval  of  time  celebrated. 
On  the  top  of  the  jokul  is  seated  the  "Lady  of  the 
Mountain,"  or  Iceland  represented  as  a  female  figure, 
holding  in  her  left  hand  a  roll  of  parchment,  and  with 
her  right  leaning  on  a  sword,  her  face  turned  toward 
the  glorious  past ;  on  her  right  shoulder  is  sitting 
one  of  the  ravens  of  Odin,  that  every  morning  gave 
him  tidings  of  all  that  was  going  on ;  her  head  is 
wreathed  with  ice  crystals  and  flames  of  fire,  the  two 
antagonistic  elements  of  the  island.  On  the  Moun- 
tain beneath  her  feet  is  a  Latin  inscription  which 
has  been  thus  translated  by  an  Icelandic  scholar :  — 

"  Ten  centuries  thou  sawest  fade,  patient,  still  unvanquished  Thule  ; 
Glorious  mother,  may  God  grant  thee  life  of  thousand  centuries  ! 
We  pray  that  God  Almighty  may  crown  thee  with  freedom, 
And  deliver  thee  from  evil,  after  thy  woes  are  ended." 

In  the  middle  of  the  space  below,  supposed  to  be 
the  ocean,  is  a  map  of  Iceland,  surrounded  by  the  four 
protecting  genii  of  the  land,  represented  after  Snorre 


THE    FUTURE    OF  ICELAND.  lOJ 

Sturleson's  record  in  the  "  Heimskringla,"  in  which 
he  tells  us  that,  owing  to  the  maltreatment  by  king 
Harald,  of  some  Icelanders  on  the  coast  of  Denmark, 
the  indignant  islanders  sent  him  word  that  they  in- 
tended by  way  of  reprisal  to  make  as  many  lampoons 
on  him  as  there  were  noses  (or  heads)  in  Iceland.  So 
dreaded  were  these  sharp  satires  that  the  king  pro- 
posed to  sail  to  Iceland  to  avenge  this  scornful  mock- 
ery. According  to  one  of  the  sagas,  the  king  ordered 
one  of  his  magicians  to  go  thither  in  the  shape  of  a 
whale  and  reconnoitre.  Going  to  the  west  coast  he 
found  all  the  mountains  full  of  genii,  great  and  small, 
and  when  he  tried  to  land  in  one  of  the  fiords  a  huge 
dragon  rushed  toward  him,  with  a  train  of  serpents 
and  toads,  that  blew  poison  upon  him  ;  turning  into 
another  fiord  a  bird  flew  against  him,  so  large  that  its 
wings  stretched  across  the  mountains  ;  going  south, 
a  large  gray  bull  attacked  him,  wading  into  the  sea, 
and  bellowing  frightfully  ;  at  Rejkianess  there  came 
down  the  hill  a  giant,  higher  than  the  mountains, 
with  an  iron  staff  in  his  hands,  and  many  other  giants 
following  him.  Thus  baffled  at  every  point,  he  swam 
along  the  coast,  finding  nothing  but  barren  sand  and 
deserts,  dangerous  rocks,  and  a  wide  expanse  of 
stormy  ocean.  The  king  concluded,  on  the  return 
of  his  messenger,  that  he  would  not  undertake  the 
voyage. 


308  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

These  saga  myths  represent,  in  a  manner,  the  nat- 
ural phenomena  of  Iceland,  —  the  dragon  and  the 
giant  represent  the  subterranean  agencies  of  the  vol- 
cano and  the  geyser,  the  bird  the  sharpness  of  the 
frost  and  the  brightness  of  the  ice,  and  the  bull  the 
roaring  ocean,  —  and  they  are  placed  accordingly  at 
the  four  corners  of  the  island. 

Around  the  map  of  the  island  is  the  first  stanza  of 
the  popular  Icelandic  national  song  written  by  their 
eminent  lyric  poet,  Bjarne  Thorarensen  (who  died  in 
1 841),  translated  thus:  "World-old  Iceland,  beloved 
foster-land,  thou  wilt  be  loved  by  thy  sons  as  long  as 
the  ocean  girds  the  lands,  men  love  women,  and  the 
sun  shines  on  mountains."  On  the  right  higher  up 
is  typified  the  discovery  of  Greenland  by  the  Icelander, 
Erik,  the  Red,  in  982  ;  and  on  the  left,  of  America, 
or  Vinland,  by  Leif,  the  Lucky,  in  1000;  and  between 
them  are  the  symbols  of  the  achievements  of  Iceland, 
viz.,  poetry,  science,  and  warfare,  represented  by  a 
harp,  books,  and  weapons.  Below  the  map  are  shown 
typical  views  of  Iceland,  —  a  jokul,  or  ice  mountain, 
with  a  waterfall  in  the  middle,  glittering  in  the  rays 
of  the  rising  sun  ;  on  the  left  the  geyser,  on  whose 
column  of  steam  the  giant  is  treading,  as  an  abstrac- 
tion or  myth,  without  weight  or  reality  ;  on  the  right, 
Hecla  in  eruption,  toward  whose  column  of  smoke  the 
dragon  is  blowing,  emblematic  of  the  volcanic  forces. 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  309 

« 
Below  these  an    Icelandic  verse,  signifying,  "  Old,  for 

ever  ice-clad  land,  be  to  us  ever  the  wonderful  sight 

thou  wast  to  the  eyes  of  thy  first  settlers." 

On  the  base  of  the  left  pillar  is  the  symbol  of  malig- 
nity, biting  its  own  tail ;  on  the  base  of  the  right,  a 
Norse  galley,  signifying  the  old  navigation  of  Iceland  ; 
over  these  respectively  the  names  of  Ingolf  and  Thor- 
leif,  the  first  settlers.  On  the  shafts  are  written  the 
names  of  thirty-two  distinguished  first  settlers  ;  from 
a  vase  crowning  each  shaft  rise  leafy  branches  follow- 
ing the  arch  of  the  gate,  and  forming  a  garland  over 
a  female  figure  ;  in  the  middle,  and  also  on  the  breast 
of  the  mountain  lady,  is  the  sacred  five-rayed  star  of 
heathenism.  On  the  leaves  of  the  garland,  and  of 
other  branches  springing  from  the  vase,  are  inscribed 
the  names  of  such  Icelanders  as  have  distinguished 
themselves  in  their  country's  history,  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  in  number,  only  two  of  whom  are  living 
—  one,  the  patriot,  Jon  Sigurdsson  ;  the  other,  Bjorn 
Gunnlaugsson,  an  eminent  geographer  and  mathema- 
tician, now  eighty-six  years  old. 

In  the  top  of  each  branch,*  on  each  side  of  the  name 
Island  (Iceland),  perches  an  eagle,  a  bird  which,  accord- 
ing to  their  sagas, "  knoweth  many  things  ;"  and,  lastly, 
under  each  corner  of  the  name,  an  Icelandic  and  a 
Latin  inscription,  meaning  "  in  commemoration  of  the 
colonization  of  Iceland,  one  thousand  years  ago." 

•  The  world-iree  Yggdrasil. 


3IO  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

This  embodies  at  a  glance  the  glorious  deeds  and 
history  of  Iceland ;  its  discoveries,  the  myths  of  its 
sagas,  and  the  characters  of  its  scenery,  and  is,  in  fact, 
an  epitome  of  what  was  celebrated  at  their  Millennial 
Anniversary  in  1874.     Made  by  Benedikt  Groudal. 

Finally,  my  impression  of  this  people,  grave  and 
inexpressive  like  the  cold  sons  of  the  north,  was  that 
they  are  born  republicans  ;  while  asking  from  the  king 
of  Denmark  a  new  constitution,  granting  them  the 
privilege  of  self-government,  they  would  pay  no  part 
of  the  expenses  of  that  kingdom,  and  take  no  share  in 
its  government ;  yielding  to  the  sovereign  only  that  re- 
spect which  they  demanded  from  him.  All  they  asked 
was  a  certain  degree  of  political  independence,  and 
especially  to  impose  their  own  taxes,  and  apply  them 
to  the  development  of  the  intellectual  and  material 
interests  of  the  island  as  they  think  proper.  The 
new  constitution,  though,  in  most  respects,  a  "  glitter- 
ing generality,"  high-sounding  words  without  practical 
concession  of  greater  freedom,  was  accepted  by  the 
people  as  a  beginning,  the  shadow  of  a  substance  in 
the  future.  Such  concession  on  the  part  of  Denmark 
alone  can  remove  their  national  hatred  of  the  mother 
country.  This,  or  at  least  a  national  indifference, 
was  everywhere  manifest  during  the  recent  visit  of 
the  king  ;  the  coldness  of  his  reception  was  so  evident 
that  it  must  have  wounded  him,  as,  in  his  kindness  of 


THE    FUTURE    OF   ICELAND.  31I 

heart,  he  certainly  wished  to  do  something  for  the 
benefit  of  Iceland  ;  he  doubtless  thought  he  had,  but 
the  keen  scalpels  of  these  republicans  soon  pierced 
the  thin  wordy  covering  of  the  long-drawn  sentences, 
and  came  down  to  the  hard  skeleton  of  the  old 
familiar  despotism  ;  they  asked  for  bread,  and  they 
got  a  stone.  The  people  looked  upon  the  pageant, 
and  said  nothing  ;  they  even  scorned,  in  their  national 
pride,  to  use  any  language  but  the  Icelandic,  even 
when  they  understood  Danish.  There  was  little 
enthusiasm,  except  among  the  Danes,  a  few  offi- 
cials, and  the  aspiring  demagogues  who  are  found 
there,  as  elsewhere,  ready  to  bend  the  knee  to  kingly 
power. 

What  Iceland  especially  wants  are  better  means  of 
communication  than  the  small  uncomfortable  steamers 
which  now  make  about  eight  trips  a  year ;  foreign 
capital  to  develop  their  fisheries  and  mineral  wealth, 
and  improve  their  breeds  of  sheep,  horses,  and  cattle  ; 
larger  and  better  boats  and  tackle;  the  making  of 
roads  and  deepening  of  harbors  ;  with  better  accom- 
modations for  the  summer  tourists  who  would  be  glad 
to  visit  its  magnificent  and  peculiar  scenery  ;  and,  at 
the  present  time,  the  sympathy  and  assistance  of  other 
nations  to  enable  the  people  to  recover  from  the 
recent  volcanic  eruption  which  has  devastated  the 
south-eastern  portion  of  the  island. 


312  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND, 

While  we  may  not  agree  with  Mr.  Babbage,  that 
their  mighty  volcanic  agents  and  glaciers  may  be  con- 
verted into  useful  instruments  of  human  industry,  we 
may  believe  that  these  may  cease  to  be  destructive ; 
that  their  literature  may  receive  the  attention  from 
scholars  and  antiquarians  that  it  merits  ;  that  new 
avenues  of  trade  and  increased  production  may  pre- 
vent famines  ;  that  attention  to  the  laws  of  health, 
securing  pure  air,  cleanliness,  and  nourishing  food, 
may  cause  desolating  epidemics  to  cease ;  and  that 
with  the  privileges  asked  for,  and  to  a  small  extent 
granted,  in  the  new  constitution,  Iceland  may  regain 
and  maintain  her  place  in  the  family  of  nations. 

She  is  like  her  own  twilight :  her  sun  has  set,  but 
the  splendor  of  her  bright  historic  day  illuminates  her 
during  her  night  of  oppression  and  apathy,  —  to  be 
again  a  shining  light,  let  us  hope,  under  the  influence 
of  her  rising  independence. 

And  now,  I  trust  that  the  reader  will  admit  that 
Iceland  was  justified  in  proclaiming  to  the  nations  the 
celebration  of  her  thousandth  anniversary;  that  she 
deserves  the  admiration  of  the  civilized  world  for  what 
she  has  done  for  liberty,  the  advance  of  knowledge, 
and  the  preservation  of  historic  records,  at  a  time 
when  the  rest  of  Europe  was  in  darkness;  and 
especially  that  she  has  proved  that  man  is  superior  to 
his  surroundings,  and  that  hardship,  oppression,  and 


THE   FUTURE    OF  ICELAND.  313 

poverty  can  neither  stifle  the  aspirations  for  liberty, 
nor  degrade  a  poetic  and  heroic  race. 

May  we  not  say,  with  Milton  :  *'  Methinks  I  see  a 
noble  nation,  rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  after 
sleep ;  methinks  I  see  her  as  an  eagle,  renewing  her 
mighty  youth,  and  kindling  her  endazzled  eyes  at  the 
full  mid-day  beam." 


CHAPTER    XX. 

USEFUL     INFORMATION. 

What  there  is  to  see  in  Iceland  — Useful  Information 
FOR  Travellers,  —  Where  and  how  to  start.  —  Clothing, 
Tent,  and  Food.  —  Expenses  and  Money.  —  Who  should 
GO  TO  Iceland. 

"  Now  Neptune's  month  our  sky  deforms, 
The  angry  night-cloud  teems  with  storms ; 
And  savage  winds,  infuriate  driven. 
Fly  howling  in  the  face  of  heaven  !  " 

TT  has  been  before  mentioned  that  we  started  from 
Iceland  for  Scotland  in  a  heavy  sea,  and  that  our 
voyage  homeward  was  of  the  roughest  character,  not 
unattended  by  danger,  and  with  many  bodily  discom- 
forts. The  inquiry  naturally  arises,  what  is  there  in 
this  remote  island,  surrounded  by  an  ocean  almost 
always  stormy,  which  can  tempt  a  traveller  toward  it, 
out  of  the  way  of  modern  facilities  and  almost  of  the 
conveniences  and  necessaries  of  life. 

In  the  absence  of  millennial  attractions,  the  future 
traveller  in  Iceland,  until  2874,  must  content  himself 
with  its  grand  scenery,  volcanic  phenomena,  and 
Scandinavian  people.  There  is  the  grandeur  and 
desolation  of  ice  and  lava,  but  also  the  green  hue  of 


USEFUL    INFORMATION. 


:>':> 


vegetation,  and  a  verdure  capable  of  supporting  man 
and  his  domestic  animals  ;  rich  pastures  and  exten- 
sive meadows  support  a  contented  but  scattered  pop- 
ulation, almost  to  the  edge  of  everlasting  ice  anS  in 
close  proximity  to  the  slumbering  volcano ;  the  flow- 
ers are  abundant  and  beautiful.  The  fury  of  the 
waves  on  the  lava  coast ;  the  precipitous  sides  of  the 
fiords,  washed  by  the  sea ;  the  icy  jokuls  on  every 
hand ;  the  lava  deserts,  cracked  and  distorted  in  the 
most  picturesque  manner ;  the  short  and  icy  rivers ; 
the  placid  but  dismal  lakes  ;  the  hot  springs  and  the 
geysers  ;  the  basaltic  walls  of  Thingvalla,  over  which 
pours  a  fine  cascade ;  the  views  of  Hecla,  and  Snaef- 
fels,  and  the  glittering  mountains  which  bound  the 
great  desert  on  the  south  and  west,  form  a  list  of 
things  to  be  seen  in  Iceland,  and  nowhere  else,  in 
which  any  enthusiastic  traveller  would  delight.  To 
the  mineralogist  and  geologist  it  is  a  land  of  exceed- 
ing interest  ;  to  the  sportsman,  its  salmon,  plover, 
curlew,  ducks,  and  grouse  offer  tempting  induce- 
ments. 

The  point  of  departure  should  be  the  capital,  as 
there  guides  understanding  English.  Danish,  and  Ice- 
landic can  readily  be  obtained.  As  walking  is  impos- 
sible, principally  on  account  of  the  rivers  and  bogs, 
horses  must  be  hired  or  bought ;  the  last  is  prefera- 
ble for  extended  journeys,  as  they  can  usually  be  sold 


3l6  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

for  a  fair  price  at  the  end  of  the  journey ;  we  found 
the  necessary  expenses  about  the  same  as  when  trav- 
elHng  on  the  continent,  —  about  five  dollars  per  day. 

When  we  consider  that  the  first  steamer  touched 
there  not  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  it  is  quite  a 
satisfactory  progress  to  have  a  regular  steamer  sailing 
from  Copenhagen,  touching  at  Leith  in  Scotland,  and 
making  six  or  eight  passages  each  way  during  the 
year,  from  May  to  October.  The  fare  from  Scotland 
is  twenty-five  dollars  in  gold  each  way,  with  a  small 
additional  expense  for  the  steward. 

The  traveller  requires  ordinary  winter  clothing, 
woollen  undergarments,  strong  boots,  and  Mackin- 
tosh. I  found  rubber  leggings  very  serviceable,  both 
against  water  and  mud.  He  must  take  his  own  food 
with  him,  and  a  tent ;  he  will  not  find  any  inns,  but 
the  clergymen  will  generally  receive  him  hospitably, 
offering  the  comforts  of  their  houses  and  the  protec- 
tion of  their  churches,  accepting  no  pay  in  money, 
but  grateful  for  any  useful  present ;  in  pleasant 
weather  he  will  not  care  to  sleep  in  the  houses,  or 
even  the  churches,  for  entomological  reasons.  A 
tent  seven  feet  long  and  five  feet  high  is  ample  for 
three  persons ;  it  should  not  weigh  more  than  eighty 
pounds,  or  half  a  load  for  a  horse. 

Danish  money  should  be  taken,  or  obtained  at  the 
capital,  and  in  small  pieces.     A  Danish  "  skilling  "  is 


USEFUL    INFORAfATION. 


J'/ 


equal  to  an  English  farthing,  or  about  half  a  cent ; 
sixteen  skillings  make  a  "  mark,"  four  and  a  half- 
pence, a  little  less  than  nine  cents  ;  six  marks  make 
a  "  rigsbank  dollar,"  two  shillings  and  threepence,  or 
fifty  cents ;  two  rigsbafik  dollars  make  a  "  specie  dol- 
lar," four  shillings  and  sixpence,  or  one  American 
silver  dollar.  A  pound  sterling  equals  about  eight 
rigsbank  dollars  and  four  marks,  taking  out  the 
money-changer's  commission. 

Ordinary  health,  love  of  nature  in  her  wildest 
moods,  a  disposition  to  make  the  best  of  every  thing, 
and  not  to  be  incommoded  by  tent  life,  rough  fare, 
exposure  to  cold  and  wet,  and  not  a  little  fatigue  and 
discomfcwt,  are  prerequisites  for  travelling  in  Iceland. 
Even  ladies  have  made  the  trip,  though,  from  my  own 
experience  and  that  of  Madame  Pfeiffer,  I  should  not 
advise  the  trial,  unless  after  such  familiarity  with 
mountain  and  horseback  travelling,  as  the  Alps  and 
the  Yosemite  valley  would  give.  Whoever  goes 
under  these  circumstances  will  be  sorry,  I  am  sure, 
as  I  was,  when  it  is  necessary  to  say  "  good-by  to 
Iceland." 


NOTES. 


Thingvalla. 

Page  12,  line  i.  The  Icelandic  nominative  is  in  the  plural 
Thingvellir  ;  but  the  stem  is  ThingvoJl,  or  in  the  plural  Thing- 
volls.  Thingvalla,  though  grammatically  erroneous,  is  retained 
in  the  text  as  being  the  word  almost  universally  known  to  Eng- 
lish readers  of  Icelandic  travels. 

Lterary  Spirit. 

Page  40,  lines  9-12.  This  should  be  modified  by  the  state- 
ment that  there  is  a  remarkable  revival  of  the  old  Icelandic 
literary  spirit  in  the  present  century,  as  exhibited  by  their  poets, 
historians,  linguists,  and  journalists. 

Sea-Serpcnt. 

Page  56,  line  8.  At  the  meeting  referred  to.  Dr.  Hagen  said 
that  he  had,  in  1839,  accompanied  Professor  Rathke  in  his  visit 
to  Norway  to  collect  evidence  in  regard  to  the  sea-serpent,  the 
reality  of  which  no  Norwegian  doubts  ;  and  Dr.  Hagen  ex- 
pressed himself  convinced  of  its  existence.  I  have  since  learned 
from  Professor  Anderson  that  Professor  Sars,  of  Christiania,  a 
distinguished  naturalist,  and  son  of  the  famous  Michael  .Sars, 
believes  in  its  existence,  and  has  been  fishing  for  it  for  some 
years  at  public  expense.  Many  people  in  Norway,  and  among 
them  the  distinguished  musician,  Ole  Bull,  declare  that  they 
have  seen  it. 


320  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

Warm  Springs. 

Page  d"]^  line  22.  About  three  or  four  miles  from  the  capital 
are  warm  springs,  which  we  could  not  find,  which  still  emit 
steam  visible  from  the  harbor. 

Norwegian  Myth. 

Page  94,  line  21.  See  pp.  13  and  14  of  "Afraja,"  or,  Life 
and  Love  in  Norway,  by  Theodore  Miigge ;  translated  by 
Morris,  and  recently  published  by  Porter  and  Coates  (Phila- 
delphia), where  a  similar  myth  is  given  about  the  origin  of 
Norway. 

Love  of  Country. 

Page  95,  line  21.  This  is  said  by  some  to  be  a  mere  fabrica- 
tion, probably  of  Danish  origin,  as  nothing  like  it  is  to  be  found 
in  Icelandic  literature.  It  is,  however,  a  not  uncommon  saying, 
which,  if  true,  would  not  speak  well  for  the  sanity  of  the  people, 
especially  after  this  year's  repetition  of  the  terrible  volcanic 
eruptions  which  have  come  from  the  region  of  the  Vatna  jokul. 

Uses  of  Churches. 

■  Page  134,  line  i.  During  the  last  century,  it  was  the  custom 
in  many  places  to  use  the  churches  as  storehouses.  They  are 
not  generally  now  so  used,  as  it  is  prohibited  by  law  ;  and  what 
we  saw  indicating  such  use  is  easily  accounted  for  by  excep- 
tional circumstances. 

Geysers. 

Page  146,  last  line  but  5.  Geysers  are  found  most  abun- 
dantly in  the  middle  portions  of  Iceland;  in  many  districts  they 
are  not  found,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  near  the  sea. 

Danes  and  Swedes. 

Page  162,  last  line  but  4.  It  is  said  that  only  one  Dane  and 
very  few  Swedes  were  among  the  original  settlers  in  Iceland  ; 
at  present  the  Danes  are  very  few,  and  there  are  no  Swedes. 


NOTES.  321 

Kongespeil. 

Page  172,  line  18.  The  Icelandic  name  of  this  book  is 
Konungs  skuggsjd,  the  above  name  being  a  Danish  translation 
of  the  word  ;  it  means  ''  Kings'  mirror." 

Population  and  Occupations. 

Pajie  186,  line  7.  The  latest  census  makes  the  population 
of  Iceland  a  little  more  than  seventy  thousand,  which  would 
change  the  figures  in  the  text  to  one  and  a  half  and  eight 
respectively.  Of  this  number  about  five-sevenths  are  farmers, 
and  of  the  rest  a  little  more  than  one-third  are  fishermen,  and 
the  remainder  merchants,  mechanics,  and  day  laborers. 

Saturday. 

Page  188,  line  2.  This  day  was  never  called  after  any 
Roman  god  in  the  north  ;  it  was  called  "  laugardag,"  which 
means  "washing-day." 

Flokfs  Landing. 

Page  204,  last  line  but  5.  Recent  authorities  state  that  the 
place  where  Floki  landed  was  probably  Isafjord. 

The  Alt/ling. 

Page  207,  line  11.  Strictly  speaking,  Norway  had  no  "Al- 
thing," but  a  *'  Thing  "  for  each  district ;  and  these  "  Things  " 
served  as  models  for  the  formation  of  the  "  Althing  "  in  Iceland. 

Governor's  Term  of  Service. 

Page  215,  line  18.  I  have  been  recently  informed  that  the 
time  of  service  as  Governor  is  indefinite,  and  that  it  may  be 
for  life. 

'  Greenland  Settlements. 

Page  220,  last  line.     There  seems  little  doubt  that  the  Danish 
settlements  in  Greenland  were  on  the  west  coast 
14»  U 


322  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

P?'ofdssor  Anderson. 

Page  224,  line  4.  He  was  born  of  Scandinavian  parents,  but 
in  this  country  ;  and  therefore  calls  himself  a  Norse  American. 

Columbus. 

Page  229,  line  6.  Professor  Anderson  has  recently  suggested 
that  perhaps  Columbus  might  have  thought  that  the  Vinland 
which  the  Norsemen  had  found,  and  which  Adam  of  Bremen 
wrote  about,  was  the  very  India  to  which  he  wanted  to  find  a 
western  route,  and  that  what  he  wanted  to  know  was  whether 
land  could  be  reached  by  sailing  westward  ;  if  he  ever  had  such 
an  opinion,  he  must  have  have  got  it  confirmed  in  Iceland.  His 
own  beHef  is  that  Columbus  thought  the  Icelanders  had  dis- 
covered India ;  — see  No.  40,  Oct.  7,  1875,  of  the  "  Christian  at 
Work,"  where  he  has  an  article  on  the  discovery  of  America. 

The  Sagas  and  Edda. 

Page  233,  line  8.  The  sagas,  properly  so  called,  though 
poetic  in  their  style,  were  written  in  prose.  Snorre^s  Edda 
treats  of  mythology  in  prose,  and  the  Heimskringla  of  the 
Scandinavian  and  other  continental  nations  ;  the  first  has  been 
translated  into  English  by  Dasent,  and  the  latter  by  Samuel 
Laing.  The  "  Landnamabok  "  may  be  compared  to  "  Doomsday 
Book  "  in  England. 

Icelandic  Schools. 

Page  244,  line  14.  Medicine  and  theology  are  now  studied 
in  Reykjavik  ;  many  of  the  students  of  the  latter  we  came  across 
in  our  travels,  and  very  pleasant  companions  they  were.  Our 
good  friend  Dr.  Hjaltalin  is  president  of  the  medical  school ; 
there  is  as  yet  no  law  school  at  home. 

Donations  of  Books. 

Page  245,  line  20.  The  books  all  arrived,  but  not  so  soon  as 
expected ;  and  a  catalogue  of  them  has  been  published  in 
Iceland. 


NOTES.  323 

Great  Eruption  of  1S75. 

Page  269,  line  15.  The  following  are  extracts  from  a  letter 
to  me  from  Dr.  Jon  Hjaltalin,  of  Reykjavik,  dated  Aug.  31, 
1875:- 

"  Since  one  of  our  largest  volcanoes,  Kotlugia,  situated  on  the 
eastern  flank  of  Myrdalsjokul,  made  its  last  eruption  in  i86o-<)i, 
we  have  had  no  subterranean  disturbances  of  any  serious  nature 
until  the  beujinning  of  this  year,  and  especially  since  spring  ; 
when  in  April  a  great  volcanic  eruption  took  place  from  an  old 
vent  at  the  east  side  of  the  Vatna  jokul,  called  Sveinagja.  Pre- 
vious to  this  eruption,  flames  had  been  seen  for  no  less  than 
eight  years  issuing  from  the  north  side  of  Vatna,  but  no  lava 
had  flowed  down,  nor  had  any  ashes  been  seen ;  only  slight 
movements,  or  earthquakes,  had  at  intervals  been  noticed  both 
there  and  farther  north. 

'*  The  greatest  eruption  that  has  taken  place  was  in  the 
beginning  of  this  year,  from  the  "  Dyngufjoll,"  as  Mr.  Gunn- 
laugson's  map  of  Icehnd  called  "Aska,"  situated  just  in  the 
edge  of  the  great  lava  field,  called  "  Odatha-hraun."  This 
eruption  was  very  severe  at  the  end  of  March  (1875),  ^^^  con- 
tinued from  several  craters  during  the  whole  summer.  During 
the  height  of  this  remarkable  eruption,  volcanic  ashes,  consist- 
ing of  triturated  pumice  stone,  were  thrown  across  the  north 
branch  of  the  Atl.intic  to  Norway ;  and  a  considerable  quantity 
on  the  region  leading  to  Mulu-syssel,  damaging  many  farms  in 
Sudurmulusysln,  especially  Jokuldalur  and  Fljvtsdalur.  The 
farms  destroyed  and  damaged  were  twenty-three  in  number,  of 
which  only  four  or  five  were  entirely  destroyed.  On  the  whole 
it  may  be  said  that  the  damage  done  by  this  eruption  has  been 
a  little  exagijerated  in  nearly  all  foreign  newspapers,  owing  to 
the  vivid  impression  made  by  the  first  outbreak,  which,  to  tell 
the  truth,  was  a  very  violent  one. 

"In  order  fully  to  comprehend  this  outbreak,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Iceland  is  traversed  by  a  broad  volcanic  belt, 
running  from  south  to  north-north-east,  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Polar  Sea.     The  principal  volcanoes  on  this  line  are  the 


324  AN   AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

innumerable  peaks  and  craters  of  the  great  "  Vatnajokul,"  an 
enormous  plateau  of  ice-covered  mountains  where  fire  and  frost 
are  continually  at  war.  The  greatest  damage  done  to  Iceland 
by  volcanic  action  has  arisen  from  this  great  centre.  On  the 
south  flank  of  the  Vatna  we  have  the  Skapta  jokul,  which  made 
the  great  volcanic  eruption  of  1783  ;  which,  according  to  Lyell, 
poured  out  the  largest  amount  of  lava  that  ever  flowed  from 
a  crater  in  the  historic  period.  Enormous  tracts  of  land,  once 
the  most  fertile  pi  .ces  in  Iceland,  have  been  converted  into 
barren  deserts  by  the  volcanic  vents  01  Vatna.  We  have  special 
names  for  these  sandy  deserts,  never  more  to  be  inhabited  by 
human  beings,  as  "  Myrdals  sandur,"  "  Solheima  sandur,"  and 
"  Sheydarar  sandur." 

"Turning  to  the  north  side  of  this  same  Vatna,  you  find  no 
less  clear  marks  of  the  subterranean  fire  and  forces,  not  only  in 
that  enormous  lava  field  called  "  Odatha-hra\in "  (the  lava  of 
the  outlaws  or  ungodly  people),  by  far  the  most  extensive  in 
Iceland,  but  also  in  "  Trolladyngur "  and  the  deserts  of  My- 
vatn,  and  the  sandy  deserts  of  "  Modurdal,"  from  which  some 
of  the  latest  eruptions  of  last  winter  came.  Continuing  in  a 
north  direction,  you  meet  the  great  solfataras  at  Myvatn,  with 
the  volcanoes  Leirhnukur  and  Krabla  ;  and  from  that  and  the 
lake  of  Myvatn  is  a  continuous  lava  field  to  Skjalfanda  Bay,  the 
northern  end  of  the  above  mentioned  volcanic  belt. 

"  The  great  Vatna  glacier  was  crossed  during  this  summer 
by  Mr.  Watts,  an  Englishman ;  but  on  account  of  the  bad 
weather  and  the  difficulties  he  had  to  overcome,  he  could  not  make 
many  investigations  on  the  glacier  itself.  He  was  guided  by 
five  young  and  strong  Icelanders,  and  he  confesses  that  to  them 
he  owes  his  life  ;  they  came  near  perishing  from  cold  and  pri- 
vation, and,  although  well  fitted  out,  were  much  reduced  when 
they  came  to  human  dwellings,  about  fifty  English  miles  from 
the  northern  flank  of  the  glacier.  Nobody  has  before  crossed 
this  enormous  lava  field,  and  few  tourists  will  again  try  to  do  it. 
They  went  on  foot,  their  horses  going  round  to  the  east  point 
of  the  glacier ;  they  found  the  thermometer  on  the  glacier  10 
indicate  for  several  tiays  5°  to  2°  Fahr. 


NOTES.  325 

* 

"  Our  summer  is  now  over,  and  the  autumn  has  begun,  not 
unfavorably,  but  with  rather  mild  weather  and  southerly  winds. 
Our  hay  harvest  (and  this  is  the  only  harvest  we  have),  and 
that  of  potatoes  and  turnips,  have  been  favorable  ;  so  we  may 
look  forward  with  some  confidence." 

According  to  the  latest  and  reliable  accounts,  no  persons 
are  known  to  have  perished,  and  no  change  has  taken  place  in 
the  geysers  at  Haukadal. 

Afica  Schist. 

Page  277,  last  line  but  4.  In  a  box  of  specimens  sent  by  Dr. 
Hjaltalin  is  one  of  mica  schist.  He  says:  "This  I  look  upon  as 
the  basement  stone  of  Iceland,  for  it  is  found  in  many  places  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains.  The  palagonite  is  not  the  basement 
rock" of  Iceland,  for  our  island  no  doubt  rests  immediately  upon 
the  so-called  '  transition  rocks ; '  and  in  proof  of  this  I  can 
offer  more  indications." 

Mineral  Springs. 

Page  287,  last  line.  "I  have  during  this  summer  (1875), 
writes  Dr.  Hjaltalin,  "detected  a  whole  system  of  carbonated 
iron  springs  in  a  mountain  called  '  Hengil,'  between  the  lake 
of  Thingvalla  and  Reykjavik.  These  springs  are  of  the  same 
nature  as  the  chalybeate  springs  of  Germany,  of  Reiners.  Pyr- 
mont.  &c.  ;  they  contain  not  only  bicarbonate  of  iron,  but  also 
of  manganese,  with  other  carbonates,  and  they  act  remarkably 
well  in  several  nervous  diseases,  scrofula,  chlorosis,  &c.  They 
are  found  in  several  other  places,  especially  in  the  western  part 
of  the  island,  but  those  recently  discovered  by  me  are  the 
most  effective.  All  such  springs  are  in  our  language  called 
*  Olmeldur.' " 

First  Legislative  Diet. 

Page  305,  line  25.  Dr  Hjaltalin  writes  :  "  The  duties  of 
our  Diet  have  at  this  time  put  such  a  burden  upon  me  that  I 
have  been  obliged  to  devote  all  my  time  to  them.  Now  (August, 
1875)  we  have  finished,  and  glad  I  am,  for  I  was  really  much 


326  AN  AMERICAN  IN  ICELAND. 

exhausted  by  the  daily  sittings  at  the  Althing  and  the  neve 
ending  committee  meetings.  We  have  been  obliged  to  do  ou 
work  in  a  great  hurry,  having  no  less  than  eighty-two  proposi 
tions  to  consider  in  the  short  time  of  fifty  days.  Our  firs 
legislative  Diet  was  quiet  and  unanimous,  and  I  should  thin) 
rather  business  like,  for  no  less  than  thirty-seven  laws  wer 
finished  during  its  short  session." 


Cambridge :  Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBftAftY 


